Listening to someone, really listening and hearing what is said, can be the best gift you can give, and it doesn’t cost a dime, just a bit of your time. Recently, a friend suffered a traumatic event. She mentioned it in our conversation and I told her how sorry I was and how glad that it was no worse; it could have been, much worse. She began telling me about it. As I listened, I realized she wanted and needed to talk about it. She told me how scared she felt and the strange feeling of unreality. Twice, she thanked me for listening. She was grateful to have someone who cared, someone who wished her well and didn’t interrupt, just listened.
Busyness sometimes intrudes into our lives. We hurry here, scurry there, do a bit of this and then something else. Our minds are cluttered and we miss a lot of what’s really important. When a child discovers the outgrown shell of a locust clinging to the bark of a tree, when a little one is troubled by something that happened on the playground, when a husband or a wife runs into a problem with a colleague, we need to stop what we are doing, forget the interruptions and our own troubles for a moment, and give our full attention. We need to listen.
It’s amazing how listening enlarges a person’s heart. Hearing the excitement or pain in a voice, seeing the wonder or bewilderment in someone’s eyes is a learning and heart-stretching experience.
We are quick to bring food or rally round when disaster strikes and that is good. It shows that we care. But, I believe that even more important is sitting down with someone or running with them to see that beautiful rainbow before it fades. Trying to look through other eyes and feel what they are feeling, is the most important thing anyone can do. And, to do that, we must listen.
Manos Mysteries
Wonderful post, Blanche!
Thank you, Susan.