Are You Listening?

These days it seems as if

everyone wants to be heard

but no one wants to listen.

 

I despise cliches

but there is truth to the saying,

"We were given two ears and one mouth

so we can listen twice as much as we speak."

 

Nearly every day

(no exaggeration)

I either take part in or witness conversations

where one of the "participants"

isn't really listening.

 

We've all been guilty of not listening

a time or two when our minds have been preoccupied,

but THIS is different!

 

As my 18 year old observed,

"Most people aren't genuine.

They only seem to want to talk about themselves,

their politics,

or complain."

 I tend to agree with him.

 

My 18 Year Old

 

And for those of us who are listeners,

this makes real, genuine relationships

difficult

(or at least challenging!)

because

once-in-a-while

we like to be heard too.

 

This is why I am thankful

that I am a writer.

 

Because whether people truly listen

(or read)

or not,

writing provides me with an outlet

for all the things that go on in my head,

otherwise, it

 (my head),

might explode

and that would just be gross.

Ha!

 

I am thankful, too,

that the man I married is my

best friend

and that we

choose

to listen to one another,

which has resulted in

my cultivating a habit of listening

in our children.

 

BFFs

 

Our children are 21, 18 and 16

and are the best conversationalists I know.

 

My 3 "little" Listeners

 

Not only do they listen, engage and respond appropriately,

but they think for themselves

and bring fresh, new and interesting ideas

to the conversation.

 

And listening to them in return

builds their confidence,

creates empathy within all of us,

and encourages them to go out and

pursue all they dare to dream.

 

Young people have a lot of

GOOD

things to say.

They should be seen

AND

heard.

 

Because when it comes down to it,

aren't these the types of people

we really want in our lives?