Listening
Listen - To make a conscious effort to hear, to attend closely so as to hear
Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary
I’ve missed a lot of information and understanding during my lifetime and that’s a shame. Looking back, I now recall that I would frequently cut off my children’s explanations with some motherly advice. Likewise, I already had the answer to a friend’s dilemma even before they finished speaking. And if we read the same book, I had to offer my interpretation the minute the other party finished giving me theirs. I wasn’t smug. I was just behaving as so many do. I wasn’t listening.
It’s taken me a long time to realize that though I thought I was listening, I obviously was not. It’s strange to become aware that my mind had been generating responses long before the other party had completed a sentence. I wonder if that’s the way I went through school, especially high school. I remember my algebra teacher explaining a problem and thinking about whether my current boyfriend would call that night and ask me to his prom. I wasn’t listening to the teacher.
It seems to me that much of our knowledge is formed through listening. For me, spiritual knowledge was imparted in the words given to me by a Rabbi or a Priest or a Minister. (I must have been listening on those occasions!) I listened enough to get good grades in school but not sufficiently well to make the subject being taught a complete part of my understanding. I felt rather than listened to angry words and assured myself that the words didn’t apply to me, although they probably did. The truth of the matter is that, during a conversation, I thought more than I listened. That certainly did not make me the best mother, friend or companion. It also did not help me absorb many of the answers I still seek today.
As I reminisce now, it seems to me that listening should be a required class along with reading, writing and arithmetic. Listening is just as important as the others. The world is not full of good listeners. That’s because they were never given a class in listening.
I seem to be learning more during this time of my life. I am growing in a very good way. I’m becoming more aware of the wonder of learning, of the joy of friendship, of appreciation for the love I receive, and for the many large and small miracles that fill my days. Much of what invades my soul, I now learn by conscience listening.
Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary
I’ve missed a lot of information and understanding during my lifetime and that’s a shame. Looking back, I now recall that I would frequently cut off my children’s explanations with some motherly advice. Likewise, I already had the answer to a friend’s dilemma even before they finished speaking. And if we read the same book, I had to offer my interpretation the minute the other party finished giving me theirs. I wasn’t smug. I was just behaving as so many do. I wasn’t listening.
It’s taken me a long time to realize that though I thought I was listening, I obviously was not. It’s strange to become aware that my mind had been generating responses long before the other party had completed a sentence. I wonder if that’s the way I went through school, especially high school. I remember my algebra teacher explaining a problem and thinking about whether my current boyfriend would call that night and ask me to his prom. I wasn’t listening to the teacher.
It seems to me that much of our knowledge is formed through listening. For me, spiritual knowledge was imparted in the words given to me by a Rabbi or a Priest or a Minister. (I must have been listening on those occasions!) I listened enough to get good grades in school but not sufficiently well to make the subject being taught a complete part of my understanding. I felt rather than listened to angry words and assured myself that the words didn’t apply to me, although they probably did. The truth of the matter is that, during a conversation, I thought more than I listened. That certainly did not make me the best mother, friend or companion. It also did not help me absorb many of the answers I still seek today.
As I reminisce now, it seems to me that listening should be a required class along with reading, writing and arithmetic. Listening is just as important as the others. The world is not full of good listeners. That’s because they were never given a class in listening.
I seem to be learning more during this time of my life. I am growing in a very good way. I’m becoming more aware of the wonder of learning, of the joy of friendship, of appreciation for the love I receive, and for the many large and small miracles that fill my days. Much of what invades my soul, I now learn by conscience listening.
No comments:
Post a Comment