PKay Reflections

Listen, my son, to the master’s instructions, and attend to them with the ear of your heart. This is advice from a father who loves you; welcome it, and faithfully put it into practice - St Benedict When the two ears are put side by side they form the shape of the heart. Interestingly, the word 'ear' sits right in the middle of the word 'heart' (h-ear-t). The ear is the way to the heart. So, if you want someone's heart, learn to listen to them. If you want God's heart, learn to listen to Him through the pages of His word. We need both a learner’s ear to learn from others and a lover’s heart to love others.

Chinese is a pictorial language. The Chinese character for Listening is as follow: We need to use the ears to listen. We need to use the eyes to read book  (listen to the author)  and newspaper  (listen to the reporter) . Our disposition must be “ One Heart ”. Single-minded or undivided attention to listen properly. Most of the time we are not listening: Not interested – mind wanders Interested but eager to respond or give advice The purposes of listening are: We listen to obtain information We listen to understand We listen for enjoyment We listen to learn There are five key techniques you can use to develop your active listening skills: - Pay attention - Show that you're interested - Provide feedback - Do not judge - Respond appropriately

Doing vs Thinking Doing is carrying out a series of tasks. Thinking is reflecting on what tasks should be carried out. Balancing thought and action will always be a challenge for many people. This is because they want the right task to be carried out effectively. There are risks and costs to a program of action. But they are far less than the long-range risks and costs of comfortable inaction   - John F Kennedy What you want is progress, in life and career. And that can only achieved through action. "Doing" involves risk but it's the only way to make progress. Small deeds done are better than great deeds planned - Peter Marshall Example: https://pkay-reflections.blogspot.com/2018/11/the-boy-and-starfish-one-daya-man-was.html Do you want to know who you are? Don't ask. Act! Action will define you - Thomas Jefferson Results come to those who act while others are discovering the "right" ways to generate results. W

Patience Do you have the patience to wait until your mud settles and the water is clear? - Lao Tzu Patience is a virtue (behaviour showing high moral standards) that helps us deal with discomfort and disappointment. When times get tough, we show self-control that we can handle life with patience. We can withstand uncalled for judgment and criticisms. Patience is not simply the ability to wait - it's how we behave while we're waiting - Joyce Meyer We need to be willing to remain non-seeking, not expecting and unmoving until the right action arises all by itself. Patience is the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, problems, or suffering without becoming annoyed or anxious. Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished - Lao Tzu Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience. Example > https://pkay-reflections.blogspot.com/2018/10/butterfly-story.html Benefits of patience: - Give ourselves time to respond, not react - Pat

The Boy and the Starfish One day a man was walking along the beach when he noticed a boy picking something up and gently throwing it into the ocean.   Approaching the boy, he asked, “What are you doing?” The youth replied, “Throwing starfish back into the ocean. The surf is up and the tide is going out.   If I don’t throw them back, they’ll die.” “Son,” the man said, “don’t you realize there are miles and miles of beach and hundreds of starfish? You can’t make a difference!” After listening politely, the boy bent down, picked up another starfish, and threw it back into the surf.   Then, smiling at the man, he said…”I made a difference for that one.” We all have the opportunity to help create positive change, but if you’re like me, you sometimes find yourself thinking, “I’m already really busy, and how much of a difference can I really make?”   I think this is especially true when we’re talking about addressing massive social problems like tackling world hun