Fierce Compassionate Counseling

North Austin Psychotherapy
Krejci Counseling PLLC

(512.761.5627
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Hearing the Birds Sing: A Lesson for 2025 and Beyond

“I don’t know anything about consciousness. I just try to teach my students how to hear the birds sing.”

— Suzuki Roshi

As we step into 2025, the world seems to spin faster with each passing year. We are inundated with advancements in technology, constant connectivity, and an endless stream of information. Yet, amidst all this noise, Suzuki Roshi’s timeless wisdom urges us to pause, listen, and rediscover what it means to be present.

This profound yet simple insight nudges us to look beyond intellectual debates or lofty ambitions. It’s in the small, tangible moments—like truly hearing the birds sing—that we uncover life’s deepest joys, clarity, and connection.

Why Presence Matters More Than Ever

Distractions are everywhere. Notifications buzz. Deadlines loom. The pressure to always “do more” leaves us running on empty. This endless busyness can make us feel unfulfilled and disconnected, chasing meaning in all the wrong places.

But what if we paused? What if we grounded ourselves in the present moment?

How to “Hear the Birds Sing”

Hearing the birds sing is more than a metaphor—it’s a practice. It’s about nurturing mindfulness, self-compassion, and curiosity in daily life. Let’s make 2025 the year we embrace this practice with open hearts:

  1. Begin Your Day with Stillness
    Instead of diving into emails or to-do lists, start each morning with intention. Open a window or step outside. Breathe deeply. Listen. Whether it’s the melody of birdsong, the rustle of leaves, or the distant hum of traffic, let yourself ease into the day with curiosity and calm.
  2. Engage Your Senses
    Throughout the day, take moments to pause and truly notice your surroundings. What do you see? Hear? Smell? Feel? By engaging your senses, you anchor yourself to the here and now, discovering beauty in the simplest details.
  3. Practice Self-Compassion
    When life feels overwhelming, take a moment to offer yourself kindness. Instead of pushing through exhaustion or criticizing yourself for mistakes, pause and acknowledge your efforts. Remind yourself that it’s okay to rest, to take things slow, and to simply be. Self-compassion is the foundation of presence and inner peace.
  4. Create Screen-Free Zones
    In a hyper-connected world, it’s vital to disconnect. Designate parts of your day or spaces in your home as screen-free sanctuaries. Use this time to connect with nature, rediscover a favorite hobby, or simply sit and observe the world around you.
  5. Practice Active Listening
    Give your full attention to the people in your life. When someone speaks, resist the urge to plan your response or multitask. Listen deeply. You might find that truly hearing another person can feel as profound as hearing the birds sing.

Therapy as a Space to Listen and Be Heard

In therapy, the practice of hearing the birds sing takes on an even deeper meaning. It’s a chance to:

  • Slow down and uncover thoughts and feelings often buried in the rush of life.
  • Build resilience and discover tools for navigating challenges.
  • Foster a sense of presence and self-compassion that nurtures healing and growth.

As a therapist, I aim to create a space where clients feel safe to pause, reflect, and reconnect with their inner selves. Together, we explore what it means to truly listen—to your own voice, to others, and to the quiet yet profound beauty of life itself.

Looking Ahead

As we journey through 2025, let’s carry Suzuki Roshi’s wisdom with us. While the challenges of modern life may feel complex, the answers often lie in simplicity. By learning to hear the birds sing, we remind ourselves that life’s richness is always within reach, waiting to be noticed.

So, take a moment right now. Pause. Breathe. Listen. What do you hear? Maybe it’s more than birdsong. Maybe it’s the gentle call of your own heart, inviting you back to this very moment.

Growth during change

About a month ago, I resigned to the fact that I’ll likely be doing online sessions for a while.  I had been going to my office periodically to water my plants.  I love my office and plants do too.  A large sliding glass door lets in a lot of natural light and all the plants that I’ve brought there have thrived. When I went to water I was surprised and excited to see the new growth and them all looking wild and happy.  My office is unlike my house, where I have two children, two dogs, and two cats.  There’s decent light, but nothing like my office.  Bringing plants into my home is like a death sentence – a random succulent or ivy will survive, but that is only because they’re the sturdiest of plants and they are put far from the reaches of children or critters who may hurt them.

Last month I decided to bring these plants home.  I felt like I was sentencing them to death.  So, I found the best places in the house and hoped for the best – but expected the worst.  Surprisingly within a week, two of my plants from my office had grown new leaves.  How could that be possible? How could growth still happen when they’re being chomped by our newest puppy, didn’t have the best light, and just experienced a change in environment?  It was exciting to see and the lesson wasn’t lost on me.

Frequently with clients they come to therapy struggling with something in their life – there can be a lot of pain and suffering. Something doesn’t feel right. Often someone may feel stuck and unable to make the changes they want in their life.  However, I’ve found that even under these circumstances people can move through these difficulties and still grow!! Positive change can still happen even when we have the proverbial puppy chomping on us.  It’s truly incredibly and helps remind me in my own life that when things feel difficult that growth is still possible and will happen – just be patient, be curious and compassionate.

Curated Spaces

As all sessions have moved online and will continue to be for the next few months, I’ve become more aware of the what it’s like to be in the actual therapy space. My office is a place where I have been intentional with design choices, layout, and furniture to provide a place of coziness and comfort. All the objects have been carefully curated to help my clients feel at ease and to serve as a preview of my style.  I’ve moved my tissue box no more than a dozen times to make sure my clients have easy access and they don’t have to go searching for it.  Oh, and the intentional placement of a trash can close by so a client does not have to keep holding on to their dirty tissues.

In a session many years ago, my therapist didn’t have a trash can that was easy to find and by the end of the session my purse was full of snotty and wet tissues – gross! However, it felt like too much for me to ask where to put them.  It was so similar to life where I was used to just trying to make everyone else happy.  I didn’t want to inconvenience my therapist by asking for a trash can.  And yes, I do realize how irrational that sounds, but in that moment, there seemed to be no other option.

As someone who also has been in therapy, I pull from my own experience where I feel the most comfortable and what my needs are. However, like everyone, I know I have blind spots, and what I need in therapy can be very different from what my client may need.  Throughout our sessions I frequently check in about how it feels for someone to sit in my therapy space.

But how does this look while meeting online? I try to make sure I’m providing services in the same location in my office – with the same art. I’ve tried many different ways to light the room to help clients be able to see my face clearly.  I have had clients do their sessions in their cars, in their bathrooms, in a closet, or even in a treehouse.  Dr. Seuss would love it – “I can do therapy anywhere.”

I always encourage my clients to find somewhere quiet, keep a drink nearby, and, of course, have some tissues ready for times when the tears come. My hope is to be able to continue to help clients feel held and safe, even while in our separate spaces, and enable them to work through significant circumstances and feelings.

Courage

In my practice I am amazed at the courage people show.  As someone who has been in therapy a good part of my adult life and one who has stopped therapy to only start again, I realize how terrifying the whole process can be.  Truly one of the hardest parts of therapy is making that first phone call or sending that email asking for services. Also, what if you don’t get a call back?  – eek!! –

It can be incredibly challenging to find someone whose schedule aligns with yours, someone who takes your insurance, and, on top of all that, someone who is a good fit, can help you identify your goals and help you work toward them.

Not to mention, actually showing up for therapy is hard.  To sit across from another human and let them truly see who you are…it is terrifying!  It takes an immense amount of courage to be able to show up in this way.  The therapy space is one where clients courageously show up to attend to their own needs and explore patterns that they may have developed over time with gentle curiosity, so that they may be able to change.

My hope is that within that space I can meet clients with unconditional positive regard.  This was a term developed by Carl Rogers, a humanist psychologist.  With unconditional positive regard my intention is to show support, acceptance and love for a client, no matter what they say or do, placing no condition on acceptance.

As a client courageously shows up for therapy, I respect them immensely as a human being with their own free will and also believing that they are doing the best she can. By trying to practice unconditional positive regard, I see each my client as inherently human and inherently lovable.

I firmly believe that every person was born with the potential to develop in positive and loving ways.  Within the space of therapy, I strongly believe that if clients have the courage to show up there is a chance for them to feel welcomed, understood, and accepted.  I really am lucky to do what I do and see clients show a tremendous amount of courage in their lives.  It helps remind me that I can be brave and continue to walk on with gentle curiousity.

“This process of the good life is not, I am convinced, a life for the faint-hearted.  It involves the stretching and growing of becoming more and more of one’s potentialities.  It involved the courage to be.  It means launching oneself fully into the stream of life.” -Carl Rogers.

Safety

This is the 13th week that I’ve been providing sessions remotely.  Prior to that, I always provided it on an as needed basis.  For example, with clients with a sick kiddo at home, someone traveling for work, for a mom who could not get away completely from work and we had to do session during her lunch break, or for a client who felt so depressed that she could not leave the house.  This has been a completely new thing providing therapy services through a screen full time. In some ways, I feel fortunate that my clients adapted quickly, and that I was able to continue to provide support during such an uncertain time. But I miss the space that’s created when I’m sitting with my clients.  I miss my office, my plants, and being able to actually sit with someone. Doing these sessions from home, just feels different.  However, truly one of my favorite parts of doing remote work – meeting the fur family members of my clients.  I’ve loved seeing every cat, dog, even some baby raccoons that are being rehabilitated before going back into the wild.  These are animals that I hear so often about in session that I now get to meet.

As things open up more in Texas, clients ask when I plan to go back into the office.  I’ve always replied with I don’t know yet.  I’ve listened to other therapists argue that we must provide services and that we must do it in person.  Others strongly argue that it is incredibly risky for ourselves and for our clients to meet in person.  I thought that I could just look to someone else to help me to decide what would be best.  Tell me the right thing to do and I’ll do it. However it’s no that easy. It’s not straightforward. Like most things I found that I had to sit, and think, even feel some discomfort in order to decide what works best for me and my practice.

I began to realize that right now, today, if I sat in a room with someone, I would wonder if I was potentially getting  them sick or if I could get sick and pass it to someone else in my life.  My thought is, that this fear would be an undercurrent of our sessions and that potentially the safety that is so important in my therapeutic work would be challenged by this.  As a relational therapist, I try to root the foundation of my work in the relationship established between me and my client.  Along with my client, I strive to create a strong, collaborative and secure relationship. Unfortunately right now, with the risk of transmission of COVID-19, for me that very safety is compromised.  Yes, I could wear a mask and ask my clients to do the same, but I just don’t have eyes that can communicate emotions well, and I wonder what that would be like if my clients couldn’t see what I was feeling.

However, by continuing to do sessions by video I sit closer to my clients than I ever have in the office where we can both share an emotional experience. I can see them and they can see me.  We’re able to rely on the already established relationship from previously meeting face to face, and I hope that sometime soon we can meet again in my office.  For now, I’m here and look forward to seeing you, even remotely.