--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Whatever difficulty you face, there are…" description: "\"Whatever difficulty you face, there are time-tried ways you can listen your way through. Because listening is the doorway to everything that matters. I..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/433/mark-nepo-1670_alive_whatever-difficulty-you-face-there-are-t_1120344.jpg" --- # Whatever difficulty you face, there are time-tried ways… ![“Whatever difficulty you face, there are time-tried ways you can listen your way through. Because listening is the doorway to everything that matters. It enlivens the heart the way breathing enlivens the lungs. We listen to awaken our heart. We do this to stay vital and alive.” quote by Mark Nepo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/433/mark-nepo-1670_alive_whatever-difficulty-you-face-there-are-t_1120344.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/433/mark-nepo-1670_alive_whatever-difficulty-you-face-there-are-t_1120344.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/433/mark-nepo-1670_alive_whatever-difficulty-you-face-there-are-t_1120344.jpg) > “Whatever difficulty you face, there are time-tried ways you can listen your way through. Because listening is the doorway to everything that matters. It enlivens the heart the way breathing enlivens the lungs. We listen to awaken our heart. We do this to stay vital and alive.” [Mark Nepo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-nepo/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Listening opens the heart, connecting us to what truly matters and keeping us alive. **In simple terms:** Listening connects us to what matters. Key Takeaway Listen to stay vital. Themes connection mindfulness vitality Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - personal growth - relationship building - stress relief - creative work Key Concepts heart awakening presence awareness Questions to Reflect On - How does listening change your perception of challenges? - What does “doorway to everything that matters” mean for you? A Different Perspective Listening alone cannot solve practical problems; action is also needed. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) [Breathing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breathing/) [Communication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) [Difficulty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/difficulty/) [Doorways](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doorways/) [Faces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faces/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Listen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/listen/) [Listen Awaken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/listen-awaken-3028393/) [Listen Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/listen-way-1335334/) [Listening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/listening/) [Lungs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lungs/) [Lungs Listen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lungs-listen-3028395/) [Matter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/matter/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) [Ways Listen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ways-listen-3028394/) [Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom/) [Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wise/) ## Related quotes > [The many ways to listen have been reaching into me for years. To enter deep listening, I've had to learn how to keep emptying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-nepo/the-many-ways-to-listen-have-been-reaching-into-me-for-years-to-enter/) [Mark Nepo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-nepo/) > [Judaism tells us in many ways how to listen and say 'Hinneni', I am here.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-neuberger-baroness-neuberger/judaism-tells-us-in-many-ways-how-to-listen-and-say-hinneni-i-am-here/) [Julia Neuberger, Baroness Neuberger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-neuberger-baroness-neuberger/) > [“ All Ways listen to strangers; They may tell you when a spider is on your shoulder." donnie harold harris”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donnie-harold-harris/all-ways-listen-to-strangers-they-may-tell-you-when-a-spider-is-on/) [donnie harold harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donnie-harold-harris/) > [Listen to the way people talk. If your characters sound real the rest is easy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-eddings/listen-to-the-way-people-talk-if-your-characters-sound-real-the-rest/) [David Eddings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-eddings/) > [I know that's how things have gotten, but I appreciate to listen to it the way it was intended to be listened to. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-benante/i-know-that-s-how-things-have-gotten-but-i-appreciate-to-listen-to-it/) [Charlie Benante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-benante/) > [Take your time, think a lot, Why, think of everything you've got. For you will still be here tomorrow, but your dreams may not.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cat-stevens/take-your-time-think-a-lot-why-think-of-everything-you-ve-got-for-you/) [Cat Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cat-stevens/) > [Speak in such a way that others love to listen to you. Listen in such a way that others love to speak to you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/speak-in-such-a-way-that-others-love-to-listen-to-you-listen-in-such-2/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It used to be that if you had a pretty good record, you could stop by a station in Little Rock or Atlanta and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charley-pride/it-used-to-be-that-if-you-had-a-pretty-good-record-you-could-stop-by/) [Charley Pride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charley-pride/) > [“Listen. Listening is among the most generous ways to give. When a loved one talks to us—whether their words appear to be deep or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-karon/listen-listening-is-among-the-most-generous-ways-to-give-when-a-loved/) [Jan Karon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-karon/) > [If someone tells you to listen to a song, listen. Its their way of telling you how they really feel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/unkown/if-someone-tells-you-to-listen-to-a-song-listen-its-their-way-of/) [Unkown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/unkown/) > [Listen, in the same way that politics and government allow people to engage in large issues, media does the same.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy-jr/listen-in-the-same-way-that-politics-and-government-allow-people-to/) [John F. Kennedy Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy-jr/) > [Speak in such way that other love to listen to you,Listen in that way that other love to speak to you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevi/speak-in-such-way-that-other-love-to-listen-to-you-listen-in-that-way/) [Kevi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevi/) > [Listen to your own voice. Don't listen to someone else's. To me the way to live is to always move forward - to keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-young/listen-to-your-own-voice-don-t-listen-to-someone-else-s-to-me-the-way/) [Neil Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-young/) > [“I could tell you many things; you will listen to none of them. And if you listen t any of them, you will do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-sar-calvo/i-could-tell-you-many-things-you-will-listen-to-none-of-them-and-if/) [César Calvo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-sar-calvo/) > [Learning to listen to ourselves is a way of learning to love ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-z-borysenko/learning-to-listen-to-ourselves-is-a-way-of-learning-to-love-ourselves/) [Joan Z. Borysenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-z-borysenko/) ## More by Mark Nepo > [“Often we find it easier to think our way around things rather than to feel our way through them:”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-nepo/often-we-find-it-easier-to-think-our-way-around-things-rather-than-to/) [Mark Nepo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-nepo/) > [When we don't get what we want, there's a legitimate grieving, and then the spiritual journey truly begins, because not getting what we want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-nepo/when-we-don-t-get-what-we-want-there-s-a-legitimate-grieving-and-then/) [Mark Nepo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-nepo/) > [Each soul on earth is complete unto itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-nepo/each-soul-on-earth-is-complete-unto-itself/) [Mark Nepo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-nepo/) > [“a living symbol that can call into my moment of sadness a deeper sense of plenitude and generosity that is always there, but not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-nepo/a-living-symbol-that-can-call-into-my-moment-of-sadness-a-deeper/) [Mark Nepo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-nepo/) > [“COMING OUT While there is much to do we are not here to do.   Under the want to problem-solve is the need to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-nepo/coming-out-while-there-is-much-to-do-we-are-not-here-to-do-under-the/) [Mark Nepo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-nepo/) > [The greatest thing we can do to be closer to our own lives and to the freshness of living is to open up again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-nepo/the-greatest-thing-we-can-do-to-be-closer-to-our-own-lives-and-to-the/) [Mark Nepo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-nepo/) > [For though we stubbornly cling, believing in our moment of hunger that there is no other possibility of love, we only have to let…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-nepo/for-though-we-stubbornly-cling-believing-in-our-moment-of-hunger-that/) [Mark Nepo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-nepo/) > [Perhaps the hardest thing I've learned, and still struggle with, is that I don't have to be finished in order to be whole.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-nepo/perhaps-the-hardest-thing-i-ve-learned-and-still-struggle-with-is/) [Mark Nepo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-nepo/) > [A successful creative expression is one in which the person who has expressed it was transformed for having encountered it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-nepo/a-successful-creative-expression-is-one-in-which-the-person-who-has/) [Mark Nepo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-nepo/) > [No amount of thinking can stop thinking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-nepo/no-amount-of-thinking-can-stop-thinking/) [Mark Nepo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-nepo/) > [“Yet beneath all the talk of tragedy and grace, I have come to believe that we are destined to be opened by the living…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-nepo/yet-beneath-all-the-talk-of-tragedy-and-grace-i-have-come-to-believe/) [Mark Nepo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-nepo/) > [The glassblower knows: while in the heat of beginning, any shape is possible. Once hardened, the only way to change is to break.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-nepo/the-glassblower-knows-while-in-the-heat-of-beginning-any-shape-is/) [Mark Nepo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-nepo/) > [We work so hard to get somewhere, to realize a dream, to arrive at some destination, that we often forget that though some satisfaction…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-nepo/we-work-so-hard-to-get-somewhere-to-realize-a-dream-to-arrive-at-some/) [Mark Nepo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-nepo/) > [Our job is not to expose the mystery but to participate in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-nepo/our-job-is-not-to-expose-the-mystery-but-to-participate-in-it/) [Mark Nepo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-nepo/) > [Pursue the obstacle It will set you free](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-nepo/pursue-the-obstacle-it-will-set-you-free/) [Mark Nepo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-nepo/) [Explore all 217 Mark Nepo quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-nepo/) ## More Alive quotes > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I feel very grateful to be alive and well enough to make music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-ant/i-feel-very-grateful-to-be-alive-and-well-enough-to-make-music/) [Adam Ant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-ant/) > [I don't crave applause. I'm not one of those guys who comes alive on stage. I'm much more alive at home, I think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/i-don-t-crave-applause-i-m-not-one-of-those-guys-who-comes-alive-on/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [We must master our egoism, and through this mastery, step outside ourselves and educate ourselves in giving. Fasting requires that we rediscover all that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ramadan/we-must-master-our-egoism-and-through-this-mastery-step-outside/) [Tariq Ramadan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ramadan/) > [I can't say that there are 'things' that make me come alive. There are thoughts that make me come alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/i-can-t-say-that-there-are-things-that-make-me-come-alive-there-are/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [We're like the wicked witch. We promise gingerbread, then eat the little brats alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/we-re-like-the-wicked-witch-we-promise-gingerbread-then-eat-the/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [If Jovan Belcher didn't possess a gun, he and Kasandra Perkins would both be alive today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-costas/if-jovan-belcher-didn-t-possess-a-gun-he-and-kasandra-perkins-would/) [Bob Costas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-costas/) > [Peace is an ongoing process. It begins with the first step and it does not end. We, all of us alive today, are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-krieger/peace-is-an-ongoing-process-it-begins-with-the-first-step-and-it-does/) [David Krieger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-krieger/) > [I think adoption becomes complicated whenever the biological parents are alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-haven/i-think-adoption-becomes-complicated-whenever-the-biological-parents/) [James Haven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-haven/) > [The pain of love is the pain of being alive. It is a perpetual wound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-duffy/the-pain-of-love-is-the-pain-of-being-alive-it-is-a-perpetual-wound/) [Maureen Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-duffy/) > [I have tried to resign myself, and to console myself; and that, I hope, I may have done imperfectly; but what I cannot firmly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-have-tried-to-resign-myself-and-to-console-myself-and-that-i-hope-i/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [If Melanchthon were alive today, he might not weep because of controversies that surround the Lord's Supper, but he might well sorrow because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-w-lutzer/if-melanchthon-were-alive-today-he-might-not-weep-because-of/) [Erwin W. Lutzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-w-lutzer/) > [If you’re alive, don’t move, if you’re dead, don’t worry about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/if-you-re-alive-don-t-move-if-you-re-dead-don-t-worry-about-it/) [Laurell K. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/) > [Here Greek and Roman find themselves alive along these crowded shelves; and Shakespeare treads again his stage, and Chaucer paints anew his age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-greenleaf-whittier/here-greek-and-roman-find-themselves-alive-along-these-crowded/) [John Greenleaf Whittier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-greenleaf-whittier/) > [You're alive!" Fezzik cried. The man in black sat immobile, like a ventriloquist's dummy, just his mouth moving. "That is perhaps the most childishly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-goldman/you-re-alive-fezzik-cried-the-man-in-black-sat-immobile-like-a/) [William Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-goldman/) [Browse all 7,282 Alive quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Whatever difficulty you face, there are time-tried ways you can listen your way through. Because listening is the doorway to everything that matters. It enlivens the heart the way breathing enlivens the lungs. We listen to awaken our heart. We do this to stay vital and alive.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mark Nepo" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-nepo/whatever-difficulty-you-face-there-are-time-tried-ways-you-can-listen/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Alive" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-nepo/whatever-difficulty-you-face-there-are-time-tried-ways-you-can-listen/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/433/mark-nepo-1670_alive_whatever-difficulty-you-face-there-are-t_1120344.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/433/mark-nepo-1670_alive_whatever-difficulty-you-face-there-are-t_1120344.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/433/mark-nepo-1670_alive_whatever-difficulty-you-face-there-are-t_1120344.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Whatever difficulty you face, there are time-tried ways you can listen your way through. Because listening…” — Mark Nepo", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Mark Nepo", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-nepo/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Whatever difficulty you face, there are...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-nepo/whatever-difficulty-you-face-there-are-time-tried-ways-you-can-listen/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-nepo/whatever-difficulty-you-face-there-are-time-tried-ways-you-can-listen/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```