Listening With the Ears of Our Hearts
Today I am grateful for the arrival of spring. Even though it doesn't look or feel like it here, it gives me hope. I am also grateful for words.
I have talked about my co-worker Germ and the spiritual guidance she offers many of us, as well as the Lenten series word-of-the-week she is doing during Lent. Here are two posts about two of those words:
Grounding and Forgiveness
Lent is winding down already. Because of different schedules and other meeting commitments, I am missing the other word-of-the-week sessions, but Germ shared another one of the words with me: listening.
Listening is so important, so necessary to healthy and trustworthy relating. I worry that our society is losing this skill for many reasons. The way we communicate is less and less about face-to-face communication and more about screens. And our young people are growing up bombarded with information from so many sources that they aren't learning how to give one person, one conversation the time and attention they need.
I do what I can to be a good listener and provide a good example of listening to others. Listening is important to my job as a school counselor, and is key as I talk to and work with others in recovery, or maintain friendships and family connections. But it is at home that my listening skills need to be the sharpest. The people nearest and dearest to us deserve our very best. I have had to learn to slow down, put down whatever multi-tasking thing I am doing, and give full attention to the person seeking it. I still need to work on this, but I have a better awareness.
Listening also means tuning in to my Higher Power. This is where mindfulness and staying present come in. And it is also where ego needs to be checked so what my HP is saying can get through.
Two lines I have integrated into my thoughts about listening have come from my school and our practice of praying. Those lines are:
-listen with the ears of your heart
-listen to what silence may teach us
These words help me remember that the person who needs me to listen needs me to listen with my heart as much as my ears and that silence allows a different type of voice to be heard.
Today I will listen intently.
I have talked about my co-worker Germ and the spiritual guidance she offers many of us, as well as the Lenten series word-of-the-week she is doing during Lent. Here are two posts about two of those words:
Grounding and Forgiveness
Lent is winding down already. Because of different schedules and other meeting commitments, I am missing the other word-of-the-week sessions, but Germ shared another one of the words with me: listening.
Listening is so important, so necessary to healthy and trustworthy relating. I worry that our society is losing this skill for many reasons. The way we communicate is less and less about face-to-face communication and more about screens. And our young people are growing up bombarded with information from so many sources that they aren't learning how to give one person, one conversation the time and attention they need.
I do what I can to be a good listener and provide a good example of listening to others. Listening is important to my job as a school counselor, and is key as I talk to and work with others in recovery, or maintain friendships and family connections. But it is at home that my listening skills need to be the sharpest. The people nearest and dearest to us deserve our very best. I have had to learn to slow down, put down whatever multi-tasking thing I am doing, and give full attention to the person seeking it. I still need to work on this, but I have a better awareness.
Listening also means tuning in to my Higher Power. This is where mindfulness and staying present come in. And it is also where ego needs to be checked so what my HP is saying can get through.
Two lines I have integrated into my thoughts about listening have come from my school and our practice of praying. Those lines are:
-listen with the ears of your heart
-listen to what silence may teach us
These words help me remember that the person who needs me to listen needs me to listen with my heart as much as my ears and that silence allows a different type of voice to be heard.
Today I will listen intently.
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