24 Hours

So many things to listen to. At night 

we listen to our dreams. They drift away, 

fraying at the edges until our eyes open to 

reality. Keeping sounds low, home stirs 

awake. Sleepy chirping of birds, uncertain 

weather rattles window panes or the silence 

of a rising sun suggests whether to shiver or 

be glad. Cars and trucks shush by, garbage 

trucks rumble down alleys, and passenger 

laden buses bustle and wheeze. With the 

steady tick of the clock, voices grow busier, 

laughter bubbles til at days end, family 

sounds take their places wrapped up in screens and sitcoms. Pillowed dreamtime returns and still we listen. But how much have we heard?

“Everybody has 24 hours and the question is, what do you do 

with your 24 hours? That’s what makes everybody equal.”

~ Stedman Graham, 

educator, author, businessman, public speaker