April 2024: LISTEN
Writing prompts and reflections to support you all month long
Welcome back to #AcWriMoments, a yearlong experiment in purposeful scholarship creation. On the first day of each month in 2024, we offer you a guidepost with a unique theme and simple prompts for living out the theme as a scholar and a human. Return to the guidepost all month long, anytime you need support for cultivating SACRED (strategic, artisanal, creative, reflective, embodied, delicious) moments of communion with yourself and your work. May these offerings encourage you in your pursuit of whatever goals and visions you deem worthy of your attention—the most precious resource you have.
Theme for April 2024: LISTEN
“Listen to your life.” This is how our friend, writing retreat coach Michelle Boyd expresses the idea that a well-lived scholarly life isn’t just about chasing goals and checking boxes. It’s also about leaving space for the unknown and unknowable so that new insights can bubble up. Listening enables course correction and meaning-making amidst the uncertainties and confusions along the way.
To LISTEN is to pay attention: to devote effort to noticing and to being shaped by what you notice. The term especially applies to auditory inputs but can also include the still, small voice within you or subtle cues from the world around you. Listening requires being quiet and receptive, but it’s not a passive stance. When you Listen, you resist imposing your own will or implementing a pre-conceived plan; instead, you allow the wisdom of ambiguity to guide you.
As we move into April — a month whose name may derive from aperire, the Latin word for open — what messages are you holding yourself open to hearing or receiving? Which areas of your life are you Listening to?
Learning to Listen isn’t always easy for scholarly writers; we’re programmed to transmit our own words into the world for others to hear. To Listen is to let worlds both inner and outer speak to us instead — and to take the time to absorb and process what we hear.
REFLECTION QUESTIONS
What literal sounds do you most associate with your scholarly life? Think birdsong, music, children at play, the tapping of fingers on a keyboard—any sounds that comprise the soundtrack of your life and work. What new layers of meaning do you find in your work when you pay attention to its soundtrack?
As a scholar, when do you find that listening comes naturally, and when do you find yourself tuning out, forgetting, or resisting receptivity? How might you cultivate a habit of paying closer attention?
Where can you reliably find a place of outer tranquility that enables you to hear the quiet voice within?
PRACTICES & EXPERIMENTS
Listen to your outer world. Pay attention to whatever inputs surround you right now, whether in the same room as you or echoing from a distance, and whether in person or through electronic inputs. Take note of which voices (human or nonhuman) feel discordant to you and which ones feel resonant. Do you want to shift the balance of the voices within your earshot? Notice what others’ voices can teach you, intentionally or inadvertently. Practice seeing your outer world as a rich source of information.
Listen to your inner world. Find a quiet place where you can listen in solitude to your own inner voice. Close your eyes and focus on the beating of your heart and the rhythm of your breath. Let your mind wander where it will. Notice what you wish for, what you wonder about, what in your own self is calling for your attention. Practice seeing your inner world as a rich source of information.
As you live the theme of LISTEN this month, what new possibilities open up for you? How does Listening help you receive the insights that you need to move in, with, and toward your purpose as a scholar?
Thank you for joining us for #AcWriMoments! We’d love to hear from you. Please drop us a comment to let us know what you’re learning, trying, and discovering this month.
&COURSES & MEMBERSHIP: Listen to and learn about the nuances of scholarly prose in Helen’s new 6-week Wordcraft Catalyst course, which launches on April 6. WriteSPACE members get a 10% discount, and WriteSPACE Studio members save 20%.
SERVICES & WORKSHOPS: Receive one-on-one support in developing your scholarship through Margy’s Story-Argument Foundations Service. For a communal experience, consider booking an interactive, on-site Story-Argument Workshop customized to the needs and goals of your group. Set up a free call today to explore possibilities!