Listen

Are you a good listener?

Do you do what I do a lot? Kinda listen, just waiting for a pause from the other so I can say what I want to say. I’m working on being better.

Really listening to others requires us to actively hear their words and imagine the scenes they are describing, while feeling what they feel about them.

Some say listening is an art. That may be true, but it is also a learnable skill. Maybe a more important emphasis: it is a gift, a gift of hospitality to the other.

Henri Nouwen says this:

Listening is paying full attention to others and welcoming them into our very beings. The beauty of listening is that, those who are listened to start feeling accepted, start taking their words more seriously and discovering their own true selves. Listening is a form of spiritual hospitality by which you invite strangers to become friends, to get to know their inner selves more fully, and even to dare to be silent with you.

I’m trying to hear his words today.

James 1:19 — My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak. . .