Or at least trying.  Somehow recently, I acquired a talent of listening intently and with great interest to others, hoping to learn new and interesting things I hadn’t known up till now.

Receptivity is a Universal Currency

Years ago, Werner Erhardt told me (and thousands of other people at an event), that if you want to be interesting, be interested.

I learned to do active listening as a technique for exhibiting interested behavior, which did seem to make me a lot more interesting, but there was very little curiosity behind the listening at the time.  It worked as a technique for ingratiating myself with others, but it didn’t result in much personal growth.

Fast-forward a few decades, and for some reason it has started to become fascinating to listen to others’ stories and things that work for them in their lives.  I have a ravenous curiosity and an intense ability to listen and hear what others are doing to grow in their lives.  And I’m learning.

It’s amazing to me that this seemingly minor change has become a huge influence on my personal growth, and I couldn’t be more pleased.

Current Knitting and Crochet

For the latest Koigu scarf design, the Seven Up Koigu scarf, I wanted to see if the stitch pattern would be as interesting in a single color, so I swatched up one section of the scarf in a single color.  Here’s a comparison of the two versions:

I’ve also started back on the Rowan Lightweight DK crochet afghan. I actually used a Koigu yarn for the single color…Koigu Sparkle (although you can’t really see the sparkly part very well).  But I think the scarf would be equally as interesting in just a single color as well.

I think I’ve added about 12 color stripes to the afghan and I’m a little more than halfway through crocheting this afghan.  It’s NOT a fast-moving project.