Friday, April 24, 2009

A Cricket In New York City

Shhhhhh! Can You Hear It?
A Native American and his friend were in downtown New York City, walking
near Times Square in Manhattan. It was during the noon lunch hour and the
streets were filled with people. Cars were honking their horns, taxicabs
were squealing around corners, sirens were wailing, and the sounds of the
city were almost deafening.

Suddenly, the Native American said, "I hear a cricket."

His friend said, "What? You must be crazy. You couldn't possibly hear a cricket in all of
this noise!"

"No, I'm sure of it," the Native American said, "I heard a cricket."

"That's crazy," said the friend.

The Native American listened carefully for a moment, and then walked across
the street to a big cement planter where some shrubs were growing. He looked
into the bushes, beneath the branches, and sure enough, he located a small
cricket. His friend was utterly amazed.

"That's incredible," said his friend. "You must have superhuman ears!"

"No," said the Native American. "My ears are no different from yours. It all
depends on what you're listening for."

"But that can't be!" said the friend. "I could never hear a cricket in this
noise."

"Yes, it's true," came the reply. "It depends on what is really important to
you. Here, let me show you." He reached into his pocket, pulled out a few
coins, and discreetly dropped them on the sidewalk. And then, with the noise
of the crowded street still blaring in their ears, they noticed every head
within twenty feet turn and look to see if the money that tinkled on the
pavement was theirs.

"See what I mean?" asked the Native American. "It all depends on what's
important to you."

This was sent to me by Bear Warrior http://www.freewebs.com/yona-adatiya/index.htm


What is important to you? What do you listen for? Do you take time to be still and listen? If not start.

1 comments:

urbanflute said...

This is a charming and strangely encouraging story. I believe there are more and more amongst us who listen for the cricket, especially with coins so snug in worn-out designer pockets these days!
J
urbanfluteproject