Listening

I was listening to a podcast where an interviewee stated,

Listening is just another word for being really genuinely available.

Throughout my life, I’ve always believed that the world, a higher being or a mix of the two send you messages if you’re a) willing to hear them and b) listening and paying enough attention to hear them. That’s really an expanded form of the above quote that distills both into a single statement.

The point I’ve shamefully missed, also throughout my life, is that people are part of that scope. We always tell our children they should “seek to understand” or “listen to understand”, but I’m woefully poor at the skill myself. I should be as willing to listen to someone, and be genuinely available in doing so, as I am intentional in hearing what the world has to say to me through its own wavelengths and signs.

I’m going to try to be a better listener. Not so that I can process and respond thoughtfully or intelligently, but so that I’m genuinely available to the person speaking; for their benefit and my own in equal measure.

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