The Power of Listening

I believe in the power of listening.

We live in a time when listening has gone out of fashion. We give our lives their own soundtracks so we do not need to listen to the life around us. We wrap our minds in memories, regrets, and fantasies about the future. We distract ourselves from the pain of feeling hopeless and afraid. We act as if listening will only make us feel worse.

We remove ourselves. We have stopped listening.

I can tell when someone is listening to me, and when they are not. There was a time when I thought listening was thinking about what I wanted to say next. There was a time when I thought listening was looking for the holes in what someone else was saying.

Listening is not complicated; it is complex.

Listening is being open. Listening is more about finding what holds a story together than finding ways to pull a story apart. There is a lot of breathing and waiting in listening. Listening is giving people opportunities to tell their own stories and make their own decisions.

Listening is giving the gift of not judging someone.

Listening is a spiritual practice for me. As I have developed my ability to listen to other people, I have developed my ability to listen to myself and to the Sacred all around me. I ask the most insightful questions I can, then listen for the answers.

Listening creates and protects the silence people need to hear themselves.

Listening recognizes that the world is filled with potential. As I listen, anything can happen. The next word, the next thought, may make all the difference.

People are desperate for someone who will listen to them.

How do you experience the power of listening?

When will you listen to someone today?

[Image by David Robert Bliwas]