Ft. Pulaski; GA
“..Lord, grant that I
may not so much seek to be understand as to understand..” - St.
Francis
“An appreciative
listener is always stimulating.” -
Agatha Christie
We all have a place we have come from and
places we hope to go. We all want to be
able to express our story – sometimes for no other reason than that hearing ourselves
talk helps us sort through our thoughts.
But it is a rare occasion that we find someone willing to patiently
listen – to be understanding and non-judgmental. And when we do find such a person, we
remember them for a long time after. We
feel we “know” them – even though we did the majority of the talking.
Listening well is not something we come by
naturally – the skill requires practice and development. But the advantages are many. First, we already know everything we know,
and we learn nothing new when we have our mouths going. And once we have matured spiritually far
enough to realize that we cannot directly see ourselves, we find that we can
see mirrors of our self in others. Granted,
this isn't always comfortable because the flaws we spot most readily in others
are the flaws that we work the hardest to avoid acknowledging in
ourselves. But unless we force ourselves
to become aware of them we will never be able to engage in corrective action.
When we seek to understand others we are
performing a spiritual service. As with
any other spiritual service, we receive what we give. By seeking to understand, we are the ones who
gain understanding – and we gain it in two ways. Our own ability to discern improves, so our own
understanding of both life and ourselves is enhanced. But further, the party we listen patiently to
appreciates the opportunity we gave them, and they come to understand and
appreciate our willingness and effort.
Whose story can we listen to and appreciate today? Someone close to us has something to teach us
– will we learn the lesson when the opportunity is there?
Today, may I listen.
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