The real importance of quality

A few years ago, one December, in the beautiful surroundings of Romsey Abbey in Hampshire, England, there was a Christmas concert in aid of the charity, Gift of Sight, which helps with research into the prevention and treatment of blindness.

The quality of our eyesight, as with other things in life, is something that we may sometimes take for granted. But sadly, if the quality of our eyesight deteriorates significantly, then our quality of life may take a turn for the worse.

How quality affects us

Quality can affect our lives in many different ways. Hire a bad builder and you may end up having to rebuild your house. Study with a bad teacher and you may not get the start in life that you deserve.

Sometimes we may have no choice in choosing the quality of something, as it may depend on both what we can afford and what is available. But sometimes we may have more of a choice than we think, particularly with the quality of how we listen, speak and think.

Awareness and quality

Listening and speaking are two skills that are essential for learning, communication and building better lasting relationships and careers. But are you always aware when your listening becomes distracted by other things; an email, text message or alert on a mobile phone perhaps? And are you aware of when and why you might struggle to put words into effective speech?

Understanding what affects your listening and speech requires both awareness and clarity & quality of thought. For example, being aware that the quality of functioning of your jaw can affect your breathing and your ability to speak with ease, gives you the opportunity to stop, think and exercise choice in the way that you speak. And being aware of the distraction of a mobile phone allows you the choice to ignore that distraction and listen more closely to what someone else is saying instead.

When people struggle to make progress, there is always the temptation to think that the quality of something can’t be improved, which can lead to giving up instead. But deciding to close off all avenues of further exploration when you think you have hit a wall, is just a result of thought. And thought can be changed.

Opening the mind

Progress with health, study, work and relationships is dependent on an open mind and clarity of thought. And as the quality of our thought improves, it opens the way for better listening and communication. In turn, things that you may have previously struggled with, or given up on, may become easier because you are thinking more clearly.

Possibilities

The quality of the singers and musicians at that Romsey Abbey concert was incredible. Without the thousands of hours of patient, diligent and quality practice, it would be impossible to achieve and maintain such a high level of performance.

However, the most amazing thing about the concert  was that for those who are struggling with their vision, there are people who have the quality of thought in the world to help with and support the search for long lasting cures.

Quality isn’t about status symbols, but about stepping back and taking care of how we approach and perform the most basic things in life. Without quality of thought, listening and speech we lose the ability to think and communicate openly, honestly and effectively. But with it, we open up so much possibility…