by Mary Reiman
Friday, November 27, was the National Day of Listening. Celebrating the importance of listening! Being a good listener? Paying attention?
I think they are talking about listening to others, asking if people need a response, an opinion, or a simple nod and offer of support. We could discuss who is the best listener you know or why some don’t listen to the scientists and doctors during this critical time. But I went in a different direction to celebrate National Listening Day.
As I make the journey from Lincoln to Northwest Iowa, the drive seems to include more alone time than I think I need. Listening to my own thoughts (and fears) swirl around for 4 hours is definitely too much time in my own head. My savior has been audiobooks.
Blue Highways (William Least Heat Moon) started me on this pathway. “Life doesn’t happen along interstates. It’s against the law.” So I sought the back roads and rolled along those highways, around curves, up and down rolling hills, listening to a variety of stories. It wasn’t long before I found myself entranced in the story line, comparing their experiences to my own, reminding me of the curves, dips, roadblocks and lane closures that affect our lives.
The curvy roads from LeMars to Sheldon align with the mysteries and suspense, twists and turns in the lives of Atlee Pine (David Baldacci) and Virgil Flowers (John Sandford). Sometimes when I arrive in Milford I have to drive around for a few more minutes to finish a chapter. I know you are nodding your head because you do the same thing!
The beauty of the landscape engages my memory bank. I arrive at the farm where I grew up. Watching the crops develop from spring to summer to fall this year with my sister as we wandered the countryside waiting to see mom through the nursing home window has conjured up every childhood memory imaginable, especially while listening to Before We Were Yours (Lisa Wingate). “But the love of sisters needs no words. It does not depend on memories, or mementos, or proof. It runs as deep as a heartbeat. It is as ever present as a pulse.”
For many years as I made this journey I forgot to look around. This year with life seeming more fragile, I have marveled at the lay of the land, the look, feel and texture of the soil. Braiding Sweetgrass (Robin Wall Kimmerer), reminds us to breathe in the life of the plants, our strongest connect with the earth. "The land knows you, even when you are lost."
And as the colors change throughout the seasons, the importance of our diverse lives is ever present as I listen to The Henna Artist (Alka Joshi) and the stories of those who came before us, The Last Hundred (Jim Ellis, narrated by our friend, Tim Tidball).
For those of you looking for day trips near Lincoln, travel through the gently rolling hills from Lorton to Johnson with You Learn by Living (Eleanor Roosevelt). "If you can develop this ability to see what you look at, to understand its meaning, to readjust your knowledge to this new information, you can continue to learn and grow as long as you live and you'll have a wonderful time doing it."
The cadence, the rhythm, the power of story guides me as I traverse the land contemplating life, liberty, truth, mayhem and the pursuit of happiness.
Listening to the landscape...soothing my soul.
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