In East Asia lives a mammal called a tarsier. Tarsiers have the largest eyes of any mammal per body size and weight. Their eyes are larger than their brain, and the ears of tarsiers are thin and membranous and can move independently. Tarsiers are nocturnal animals and hunt by night. Before hunting, they prepare their ears by stretching them out to where they look like a Gremlin you would find in the movie Gremlins. Their ears move independently to hear the movements of insects, lizards, etc., which are their primary food source. When a tarsier focuses on hearing, they will move their ears around like antennas and then tilt their head to dial in their prey’s exact location. The flexibility of their ears allows them to hear as well as any mammal in creation.
Photo by Nick Kulyakhtin on Unsplash
How well can you hear? I am not referring to hearing the external sounds always going around you, but the voice of those wiser than you. This voice is the Spirit of God, or if you wish, the voice of the Creator of the universe.
Zeno said to a man who wanted to chatter more than listen!
“Young man, Nature gave us one tongue but two ears so that we may listen twice as much as we speak.” ~ Zeno
How intentional are you to stop and listen for wisdom? Listening and absorbing the experience, strength, and hope from those that have gone ahead of you? We must learn to dial in our hearing, like a tarsier scouring the jungle for dinner. Fully engaged and focused on listening for the hidden message of wisdom. After soaking up the wisdom like a sponge, we must be humble and willing enough to apply the wisdom to our lives.
Lord, help me to stop obsessing about my life and learn to shut-up and listen to what You have to teach me through the wisdom of those wiser than myself. Please grant me the willingness and humility to take what I have heard and apply it to my life, so I can then pay forward to others coming behind me. In Your Spirit and Name, I pray these things. Amen.
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