--- title: "9 Listening Quotes By Gordon Hempton" description: "9 Listening quotes by Gordon Hempton. Plus more from Gordon Hempton and more Listening sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e9/gordon-hempton-18344_communication_i-would-say-that-to-listen-is-to-become_2048696.jpg" --- > [I would say that to listen is to become aware. To become truly informed. You will discover whatever you do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-hempton/i-would-say-that-to-listen-is-to-become-aware-to-become-truly/) [Gordon Hempton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-hempton/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e9/gordon-hempton-18344_communication_i-would-say-that-to-listen-is-to-become_2048696.jpg) > [I'm in love with Earth. I truly am. And so listening is not work, to work toward a better future. It's joy.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-hempton/i-m-in-love-with-earth-i-truly-am-and-so-listening-is-not-work-to/) [Gordon Hempton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-hempton/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be9/gordon-hempton-18344_better-future_i-m-in-love-with-earth-i-truly-am-and-so_2483700.jpg) > [The most important thing for our species is, before it speaks, to listen to its environment. That has a higher priority in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-hempton/the-most-important-thing-for-our-species-is-before-it-speaks-to/) [Gordon Hempton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-hempton/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/994/gordon-hempton-18344_communication_the-most-important-thing-for-our-species_1020538.jpg) > [We're all born listeners. And as a result of our modern lives, and living in a world that has less meaning than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-hempton/we-re-all-born-listeners-and-as-a-result-of-our-modern-lives-and/) [Gordon Hempton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-hempton/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/58b/gordon-hempton-18344_attention_we-re-all-born-listeners-and-as-a-result_1148506.jpg) > [How are we going to know what sounds are important before we've even heard those sounds? It's an absurd question. The only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-hempton/how-are-we-going-to-know-what-sounds-are-important-before-we-ve-even/) [Gordon Hempton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-hempton/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/531/gordon-hempton-18344_absurd_how-are-we-going-to-know-what-sounds-are_719473.jpg) > [I'm very thankful, hearing impairment or not, that I've brought listening into my life. I will never say that I'm a good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-hempton/i-m-very-thankful-hearing-impairment-or-not-that-i-ve-brought/) [Gordon Hempton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-hempton/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/320/gordon-hempton-18344_dangerous_i-m-very-thankful-hearing-impairment-or_1377732.jpg) > ["Acoustic ecologist" is basically a fancy name for someone who tries to become a better listener. Not just listening to those thoughts,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-hempton/acoustic-ecologist-is-basically-a-fancy-name-for-someone-who-tries-to/) [Gordon Hempton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-hempton/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c8d/gordon-hempton-18344_environment_acoustic-ecologist-is-basically-a-fancy_2502206.jpg) > [If you're listening to a symphony, you're getting all the information, including the audience around you, the delay from the sides of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-hempton/if-you-re-listening-to-a-symphony-you-re-getting-all-the-information/) [Gordon Hempton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-hempton/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ea/gordon-hempton-18344_audience_if-you-re-listening-to-a-symphony-you-re_125045.jpg) > [The Hoh Valley is an incredibly secure area. Any event occurs around us, we will instantly become informed of that event. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-hempton/the-hoh-valley-is-an-incredibly-secure-area-any-event-occurs-around/) [Gordon Hempton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-hempton/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d06/gordon-hempton-18344_breathe_the-hoh-valley-is-an-incredibly-secure-a_1955443.jpg) ## Other authors on Listening ## More by Gordon Hempton > [Acoustic ecology is the study of information systems: the shared acoustic environment and how species send and receive messages in this shared acoustic environment.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-hempton/acoustic-ecology-is-the-study-of-information-systems-the-shared/) [Gordon Hempton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-hempton/) > [If you're listening to a symphony, you're getting all the information, including the audience around you, the delay from the sides of the concert…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-hempton/if-you-re-listening-to-a-symphony-you-re-getting-all-the-information/) [Gordon Hempton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-hempton/) > [The earth has continued to change, from rapid climatic changes that have caused the glaciers and the ice sheets to basically bulldoze the landscape…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-hempton/the-earth-has-continued-to-change-from-rapid-climatic-changes-that/) [Gordon Hempton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-hempton/) > [You can listen to a birdsong, and from the content of the birdsong, you will be able to determine whether or not the bird…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-hempton/you-can-listen-to-a-birdsong-and-from-the-content-of-the-birdsong-you/) [Gordon Hempton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-hempton/) > [You don't really need to engage your visual sense, because the natural wiring of the human psyche is to monitor the environment through sound,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-hempton/you-don-t-really-need-to-engage-your-visual-sense-because-the-natural/) [Gordon Hempton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-hempton/) > [Quiet is the element of discerning what is essential.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-hempton/quiet-is-the-element-of-discerning-what-is-essential/) [Gordon Hempton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-hempton/) > [I believe that our distant nomadic ancestors came forward and survived because they could hear distant, faint birdsong as an acoustic navigational beacon, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-hempton/i-believe-that-our-distant-nomadic-ancestors-came-forward-and/) [Gordon Hempton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-hempton/) > [How are we going to know what sounds are important before we've even heard those sounds? It's an absurd question. The only thing we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-hempton/how-are-we-going-to-know-what-sounds-are-important-before-we-ve-even/) [Gordon Hempton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-hempton/) > [What visual information does is it creates priorities. You cannot know with certainty what lies behind something else. There are very few transparent materials…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-hempton/what-visual-information-does-is-it-creates-priorities-you-cannot-know/) [Gordon Hempton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-hempton/) > [Not only does the modern person often think that sight is more important than sound - there's no objective evidence to indicate that. Many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-hempton/not-only-does-the-modern-person-often-think-that-sight-is-more/) [Gordon Hempton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-hempton/) > [Many environmentalists have failed to recognize that the preservation of quiet areas, places off-limits to noise pollution, should probably be a number-one environmental concern,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-hempton/many-environmentalists-have-failed-to-recognize-that-the-preservation/) [Gordon Hempton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-hempton/) > [The normal way of gathering information is through sound: when you hear information that you want to gather, you look in its direction, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-hempton/the-normal-way-of-gathering-information-is-through-sound-when-you/) [Gordon Hempton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-hempton/) > [The most important thing for our species is, before it speaks, to listen to its environment. That has a higher priority in any species'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-hempton/the-most-important-thing-for-our-species-is-before-it-speaks-to/) [Gordon Hempton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-hempton/) > [Often how you define the problem will determine whether or not you're able to find a real solution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-hempton/often-how-you-define-the-problem-will-determine-whether-or-not-you-re/) [Gordon Hempton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-hempton/) > [I used to hate the urban environment and the urban din. But I realize now that it's really not that much different than living…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-hempton/i-used-to-hate-the-urban-environment-and-the-urban-din-but-i-realize/) [Gordon Hempton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-hempton/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/listening/gordon-hempton/#itemlist", "name": "9 Listening Quotes By Gordon Hempton", "numberOfItems": 9, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I would say that to listen is to become aware. To become truly informed. 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I just want to be better.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Gordon Hempton" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-hempton/i-m-very-thankful-hearing-impairment-or-not-that-i-ve-brought/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/320/gordon-hempton-18344_dangerous_i-m-very-thankful-hearing-impairment-or_1377732.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/320/gordon-hempton-18344_dangerous_i-m-very-thankful-hearing-impairment-or_1377732.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/320/gordon-hempton-18344_dangerous_i-m-very-thankful-hearing-impairment-or_1377732.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I'm very thankful, hearing impairment or not, that I've brought listening into my life. I will never say…” — Gordon Hempton", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 7, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "\"Acoustic ecologist\" is basically a fancy name for someone who tries to become a better listener. Not just listening to those thoughts, ideas, and productions of human intention, but listening to places - whether it's an urban environment, residential, industrial, or even the farthest corner of the world, in one of our last great quiet places where we can listen to the pure sounds of nature without any human-caused noise intrusions.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Gordon Hempton" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-hempton/acoustic-ecologist-is-basically-a-fancy-name-for-someone-who-tries-to/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c8d/gordon-hempton-18344_environment_acoustic-ecologist-is-basically-a-fancy_2502206.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c8d/gordon-hempton-18344_environment_acoustic-ecologist-is-basically-a-fancy_2502206.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c8d/gordon-hempton-18344_environment_acoustic-ecologist-is-basically-a-fancy_2502206.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“\"Acoustic ecologist\" is basically a fancy name for someone who tries to become a better listener. Not just…” — Gordon Hempton", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 8, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If you're listening to a symphony, you're getting all the information, including the audience around you, the delay from the sides of the concert hall, the whole thing. If one of those musicians is sharply out of tune or starts to play a different piece of music than all the others in the orchestra, you immediately notice. When you analyze systems by listening, you can just listen, and you can tell whether the system is healthy or unhealthy. What I've created for you is a perfect model of how we should be listening to our stock market, rather than trying to see it graphically.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Gordon Hempton" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-hempton/if-you-re-listening-to-a-symphony-you-re-getting-all-the-information/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ea/gordon-hempton-18344_audience_if-you-re-listening-to-a-symphony-you-re_125045.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ea/gordon-hempton-18344_audience_if-you-re-listening-to-a-symphony-you-re_125045.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ea/gordon-hempton-18344_audience_if-you-re-listening-to-a-symphony-you-re_125045.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If you're listening to a symphony, you're getting all the information, including the audience around you…” — Gordon Hempton", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 9, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The Hoh Valley is an incredibly secure area. Any event occurs around us, we will instantly become informed of that event. This can even happen at a distance. When the body recognizes that you have a very large listening area, and you're getting all the information, the body relaxes. You can breathe more gently, the cortisol levels that are created by stress in our bloodstream dissipate, and we actually become healthier. And as a result, if we are actually fortunate enough to live in a place like that, we will live longer.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Gordon Hempton" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-hempton/the-hoh-valley-is-an-incredibly-secure-area-any-event-occurs-around/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d06/gordon-hempton-18344_breathe_the-hoh-valley-is-an-incredibly-secure-a_1955443.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d06/gordon-hempton-18344_breathe_the-hoh-valley-is-an-incredibly-secure-a_1955443.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d06/gordon-hempton-18344_breathe_the-hoh-valley-is-an-incredibly-secure-a_1955443.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The Hoh Valley is an incredibly secure area. Any event occurs around us, we will instantly become informed…” — Gordon Hempton", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } } ] }, { "@type": "CollectionPage", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/listening/gordon-hempton/#webpage", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/listening/gordon-hempton/", "name": "Listening Quotes by Gordon Hempton", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/listening/gordon-hempton/#itemlist" }, "primaryImageOfPage": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e9/gordon-hempton-18344_communication_i-would-say-that-to-listen-is-to-become_2048696.jpg" }, "description": "9 Listening quotes by Gordon Hempton. 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