A PARABLE. . .LISTENING, PART I. . .

Two nights ago I was startled awake by a high pitched sound. My smoke alarm was acting up. I lay there listening to the intermittent high pitched beeping. The alarm was disconnected and was replaced. As I prepared to return to blissful slumber I began to think about ‘listening.’ After I awoke the next morning I, once again, began to think about ‘listening.’ So, gentle reader, I then decided that I would reflect a bit more about listening and then write a few words about it.

As I was reflecting upon the concept of ‘listening’ a parable emerged into my consciousness. A parable is, among other things, a teaching story. The following parable is generally one known by many folks, especially Christians. It is a parable about, among other things, listening. So, here is the parable:

“A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky ground, where it had little soil. It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep, and when the sun rose it was scorched, and it withered for lack of roots. Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it. But some seed fell on rich soil, and produced fruit, a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold. Whoever has ears ought to hear.”
The disciples approached [the teacher] and said, “Why do you speak…in parables?” …This is why I speak…in parables, because ‘they…do not…hear…do not listen…’

So, who is the ‘sower’? What are the ‘seeds’ being sown? What is the connection between ‘listening’ and the sower/sowing and the seeds?

Consider the following as ‘sowers of seeds.’ There is myself as a sower of seeds. In this case I am also the recipient of these seeds.

Then there are the sowers of seeds that are external to me. These are my parent-figures, my teachers, my peers, my authority figures, etc. There are many sowers of seeds that enter into my life as I travel along my life’s path.

For some there is a ‘spirit’ that is also a sower of seeds. This spirit can be a spirit of virtue or a spirit of vice; a spirit for good or a spirit for evil; a spirit of light or a spirit of darkness. For me, there is also God’s Spirit (some call this the Holy Spirit; some call this Spirit the ‘Breath of God’).

When I am awake and aware and living in the ‘now’ it is easier for me to become aware of the many sowers of seeds that appear in my life (including myself as a sower of my own internal seeds). When I am also intentional and purpose-full I am also open to discerning the seeds offered and I am more likely to consciously choose which seeds I allow to be sown.

When I am ‘asleep,’ when I am not paying attention, when I am not intentional and purpose-full seeds are still offered to me and some of them I allow to take root. Whether I am awake or whether I choose to be ‘asleep’ I am unconditionally response-able and responsible (this idea alone can be quite disturbing to me).

So, given this. What are some of the seeds that the sowers sow?