He was doing dishes. Some song came on. One he'd heard a thousand times.
But this time, for some reason, he actually heard it.
The vocals. The way they built. The pause before the chorus. The emotion in it.
And he stopped washing. Hands in the soapy water. Just listening.
When was the last time he actually listened to music? Really listened? Not as background noise. Not while doing something else. Just... listened.
He stood there for the whole song. Didn't move. Didn't think. Just... there.
When it ended, he laughed at himself. "I just stopped doing dishes for a song."
But something had opened. Some door he didn't know was closed.
The rest of the day, everything sounded different. Birds outside. His wife's voice.
The hum of the refrigerator.
He was hearing the world for the first time in years.
And it was beautiful.
See you in presence.