Over the years I’ve become acutely aware that listening, really listening to each other and to our inner self is a rare thing. We tend to spend a lot more time thinking and talking than we do listening which isn’t always in our best interest.
One of the greatest gifts we can actually give each other is learning to really listen instead of being so quick to respond with what we think all the time. When we are listening to others to respond, which is the most common kind of listening, instead of to understand, then we miss out on making some really great connections and learning things that we didn’t know.
Often all a person really wants is to truly be heard, I know I certainly do. We don’t always want advice or criticism or to have the tables turned and the focus put on the other person’s story before we’ve been fully heard and acknowledged.
Another kind of listening we tend to neglect is that of deeply listening to the inner self which includes the silence within. What a difference it makes when we learn to pay attention more deeply to what’s beyond the nattering voices constantly pulling us in every direction. The mind needs a break from all that thinking now and then. Learning to listen deeply, first to what we are actually telling ourselves then to the silence beyond the mental noise, creates a space for new ideas, new possibilities to emerge instead of being caught up in the same old, tired stories we tell ourselves about what’s going on and what’s possible (or not possible much of the time).
Deep listening is an art and a skill that requires a lifetime of practice for most of us. However, it’s one that’s well worth undertaking so that we can experience life more fully and more freely.
Namaste and Happy Listening!
