Are You a Good Listener
"Many a man would rather you heard his story than granted his request." ~ Phillip Stanhope, The Earl of Chesterfield
The greatest gift you will ever give or receive is simply – to listen. The act itself requires patience, on some levels even a bit of endurance, and though a modicum of empathy is always helpful as well, it really very simply comes down to our willingness to put our personal feelings, opinions and beliefs aside, if only to allow someone else a moment to have the floor.
“It takes two to speak the truth - one to speak and another to hear.” ~ Henry David Thoreau
To listen, by definition, is to make the conscious effort to focus our undividedattention on another person. In the competitive world of business or the roller coaster ride that are relationships, the ability to listen, comprehend and respond is essential to effective communication. Whether it is our dreams, our fears, our prayers or simply our point of view we humans are eternally in search of someone who will open their ears, minds, and hearts to us, even as we risk our own laid out on the floor.
“Listening is an attitude of the heart, a genuine desire to be with another which both attracts and heals.” ~J. Isham
Instinctively, we look to another’s eyes and mannerisms for reassurance that we are deserving of love, worthy of intimacy and appreciated in our own right. It is through the gift of our time, if only for a moment, sharing in the weight of it, as we listen to another’s happiness or pain pour out of them, that we communicate this one simple thing – You are not alone.
“The greatest compliment that was ever paid me was when one asked me what I thought, and attended to my answer.” ~Henry David Thoreau
I was told throughout my childhood to “Pay attention and listen!” If I only had a penny, right? As children we are taught to hold hands when we cross the street, wash them when they get dirty and sit on them when it is time to listen. If only
The greatest gift you will ever give or receive is simply – to listen. The act itself requires patience, on some levels even a bit of endurance, and though a modicum of empathy is always helpful as well, it really very simply comes down to our willingness to put our personal feelings, opinions and beliefs aside, if only to allow someone else a moment to have the floor.
“It takes two to speak the truth - one to speak and another to hear.” ~ Henry David Thoreau
To listen, by definition, is to make the conscious effort to focus our undividedattention on another person. In the competitive world of business or the roller coaster ride that are relationships, the ability to listen, comprehend and respond is essential to effective communication. Whether it is our dreams, our fears, our prayers or simply our point of view we humans are eternally in search of someone who will open their ears, minds, and hearts to us, even as we risk our own laid out on the floor.
“Listening is an attitude of the heart, a genuine desire to be with another which both attracts and heals.” ~J. Isham
Instinctively, we look to another’s eyes and mannerisms for reassurance that we are deserving of love, worthy of intimacy and appreciated in our own right. It is through the gift of our time, if only for a moment, sharing in the weight of it, as we listen to another’s happiness or pain pour out of them, that we communicate this one simple thing – You are not alone.
“The greatest compliment that was ever paid me was when one asked me what I thought, and attended to my answer.” ~Henry David Thoreau
I was told throughout my childhood to “Pay attention and listen!” If I only had a penny, right? As children we are taught to hold hands when we cross the street, wash them when they get dirty and sit on them when it is time to listen. If only