In a world, ever increasing with noise, intentional silence may be the best gift we can give one another this season. 

Not the silent treatment or avoidance, but rather, active and engaged listening to the folks in our lives. With as many of us as there are on the planet, we might find that silence is a gift we can all agree upon and one we carry with us everywhere we go. It is always ready to share and never out of date. It expects nothing from others, is special as fuck, does not cause waste, is generative, cannot be the wrong size, and lucky for us, costs nothing. 

Offering our listening ear and our time, with a curiosity to better understand what and why these special holidays are important to the people in our lives, might just be the gift our neighbors, colleagues and friends don’t have and may not even know they/we need. And of course, it is reciprocal. 

As soon as we are able to get out of our own head and listen to the heart of the one in front of us, the insight and truth of the other is the gift returned. Personally, if I had to choose between getting stuff this year and getting to connect with other humans, I want connection. It seems to me that the best way to connect is to give the gift we could all use a little more of - silence and safe space. 

Happy holidays and thanks for listening!