Listening
In our world today, we are not always so great at listening. What is listening? It is one thing to hear what someone says to you, but it is quite another to listen to it.
Listening implies that we take what someone has said and we begin to digest it. We analyze the various layers that the idea presented to us contains. We look to the person saying the things and to what we know about them. We use our knowledge about their situation and their past to try and gain a better idea of their perspective. We use our knowledge about the person not to create assumptions, but rather to strip them away. As we uncover the other’s perspective, we begin to see how they have reached their conclusion. Now we can begin to analyze the statement. We are free of assumptions and have arrived at the problem from a new-found perspective. Now you can weigh this perspective against your own.
The funny thing about truly listening is that we find that neither perspective is truly wrong. It is simply that, a perspective. When we slip into the other’s shoes and truly listen to what they are saying and where they are saying it from, we can see their point.
Now the tricky part. When we truly listen, we see that every problem has many sides and many perspectives. But only one Truth. The Truth is that our Universe is a spectacular place filled with infinite perspectives, all of which are valid. The Truth is that Balance arrives from investigating every problem from every perspective. When we are able to do this, we see that the answer is never in the extreme. The answer lies in the middle. No one side of the problem is right, no one perspective superior. The answer is always found somewhere in the middle.
I am curious, what does purple look like to you? Does it look the same to you as it does to me? Probably not. But is my version of purple more accurate than yours? Can it even be described? Purple is simply a perspective. So is religion. And philosophy. And spiritualism. And suffering. And joy. I will not help you to find Joy by telling you what it is. I will help you find Joy by listening to what you think it is.
I am ready to listen. But remember, I have a perspective too. And I will not be easily swayed by extremes. I will try to meet you somewhere in the middle. And together we will live in love.
I like this. (That may just mean I agree with it …)
I tend to be attached to the notion that there is a ‘Truth’, but it is far too easy to conflate my perspective with the ‘Truth’. I’m not sure that ‘Truth’ would be in the middle, though that might often be the case. It’s just that we tend to treat one perspective as valid and reasonable and other as not – without any justification for doing so. I think basic respect for people as people dictates that we give a hearing.
When I say the answer usually lies somewhere in the middle, I refer to my overarching philosophy of Balance being key to our Universe. Evolution vs. Creation… Neither team can prove the other wrong enough to win the debate. Perhaps it is because the Truth is that Evolution is the mechanism of Creation. The reason neither team can ever win the fight is because neither team is wrong. Same with Communism and Capitalism. If you look closely, the Alternate Economy is neither Communism, nor Capitalism, but a blend of the two. The answer, it seems, lies in the middle. There will be times when this is not true, but as far as I can tell, they are the exception, not the rule.
Thanks for the comment!
What was that ? Sorry, I was not paying attention…
ADHD strikes again… Go watch another commercial!
thanks a lot dear for liking my blog:)
“what does purple look like to you?”
Purple looks like my youngest daughter who LOVES purple.
Purple is a bowl of delicious purple grapes or enjoying a hot baked sweet purple potato. Yum!
Thanks for sharing and listening 🙂
Truly enchanted with your thoughts here.
… another great post! How do you do it? By listening, of course. You obviously listen to that powerful spirit residing in you, allowing it to guide your life and your pen!
Wonderful…
I am glad my work has touched you. Together we will come to find that the Universe is a marvelous and complex thing, if only we will listen.
I love this post! Finally someone is able to express what I agree is “truly listening.” You don’t have to agree with people to listen to be able to listen to them! Often, I find that people want to someone simply to listen to what they have to say more than anything else. Thanks for the post!
Non-judgmental listening is key to learning not only about others but about yourself. It is amazing how often others will say things that remind us of how we have felt when in similar situations.
Reblogged this on Namaste Consulting Inc. and commented:
I have just signed up to follow this blog in the past few days but I have really enjoyed the blogs I have seen so far… Listening, being present, companioning are all vitally important to being a caregiver, taking care of ourselves as caregivers, and meditative practices give us some of the “tools” to be a compassionate, fully-present listener. Take a look a this post!
I wrote these words long ago – “Words are such imperfect forms or thoughts within our minds” , so yes only by truly listening do we form the watercolors in our own world view of what another is relating to us. Listening is so much more than hearing, and listening on the telephone is the hardest of all. When confronted with another in a ‘conversation’ if we truly listen it take all of our senses, only then are we beginning to know what is being shared with us – great post !
“I will help you find Joy by listening to what you think it is.”
There is great joy in listening with all your senses to people and the there is great joy if someone listens to you with all their senses.
We always know when someone isn’t really listening, don’t we? Whether they fiddle with their zipper, or their eyes glaze over, or they respond with things that don’t quite relate… When we truly listen we are responsible for using all of our senses, or the one doing the talking will surely notice and be hurt. It matters little what they are saying, if we are not paying attention to the deeper meaning contained in what they are saying, we are telling them to shut down, rather than open up.