How well you LISTEN will determine your future. But also, the future of Amami Islands; one of the world’s most diverse, unique, beautiful and mysterious spots on the earth. Amami is at a turning point – one that will determine its future – if all LISTEN well, we have no doubt the future of Amami will be heavenly! This issue offers a direct canal to tune into the vibrations of Amami and begin a journey in which the ultimate satisfaction lies in how well you LISTEN.
LISTENing, despite sharing the same letters of the alphabet with its passive cousin SILENT, is an extremely active endeavor. Listening is the ultimate catalysts for change because it requires an acute awareness of everything! To listen well you must be attuned to your inner self, surrounding environments both macro and micro, sounds, language, gestures, vibrations and use all of these skills in a simultaneous rhythmical dance to gently pull information from both your immediate and remote surroundings. And then you must have the analytic genius, worldly wisdom, and near psychic comprehension to process all of this information accurately.
And this my friends is why there are so few good listeners in the world. This is also the reason why so many people give up on listening for the faster and flashier world of chatter. In short Listening is hard, most of us don’t put in the effort to become good listeners and all in all society places little value on being a good listener.
But AMAMI is a ‘LISTNERS’ paradise. If you are a diver there are the sonar sounds of the whales speaking a galactic underwater gargle. If you’re a surfer there are the sounds of the wind blowing in messages from abroad. If you’re a hiker there are the 260+ species of birds and plethora of frogs singing and chirping their soothing and meditational songs. and if you are one that just strolls about there are the sounds of the Shamisen being played about the neighborhood each note drifting from one house to the next via open windows, doors, ears and hearts.
So LISTEN up! Tune in! Think! Feel! And help make Amami’s future via the power of LISTENING.
