"Listening looks easy, but it's not simple. Every head is a world."  Cuban Proverb

Yesterday afternoon I joined nearly 1000 people who gathered to hear Dr. John Francis speak. Dr. Francis is more commonly known as the Planetwalker. He spent 22 years walking…never riding in a car, train or plane…anything that used oil or gas. He began his walking in 1971 as a personal protest after witnessing the devastation of the oil spill in San Francisco Bay.

 When he began walking in protest, he began having conversations with people about why he was doing this. This seemed to often lead to an argument. So he tried another experiment. He decided to stop talking for one day and instead to listen, really listen to people. One day led to 17 years of not speaking and to 17 years of really listening. During this time he received bachelor, masters and doctoral degrees….all while not speaking a word. He even taught college classes without speaking!  Image….

He was an entertaining, fascinating person with a gentle spirit and a visible love of life. As I listened to his story I wondered what might move me to such a change of life. What might cause me to go to such extremes to change the way I do my daily living? And what event, what experience would urge me to stop talking and instead focus on listening with even a hint of the intensity of Dr. Francis? It is a fascinating question to ponder.

Dr. Francis' story is compelling and unique. It is certainly a story of rich extremes. Most of us would not want to inflict that dramatic a change on our lifestyle. And yet each of us wants, I believe, to make some statement with our life and how we live it. We want people to know us, really know us, and what we stand for. We want people to say our name and know what it means. Each of us wants to know that we are doing what we were 'meant' to do, that we are using the gifts planted within us for their true purpose. What is your life statement?

John Francis learned what his life statement was, not by talking about it, but by listening to others and most importantly to himself. In the listening he came to know who he was, what he stood for and how we was called to walk the earth. "Great changes can be made through the power of personal statements, listening, and a willingness to change ourselves.", he says.

He gave me much to think about…..while I walk and…… while I listen.