onlyontuesday
  • Blog
  • About
  • Quotes
  • Nature
  • Destinations
  • Subscribe

A Dying Art

9/11/2016

1 Comment

 
Picture
​
I have a friend who has learnt the art of listening. Not just to my words, but to the cry of my heart and the longing of my soul. The questions he asks lets me know he’s heard me, that’s he’s not thinking about the next think he wants to say or the other things on his to do list. I have his undivided attention.

It’s a gift. Something I don’t experience very often. It seems as if listening has become a dying art. In the busyness of life it’s easy to be distracted with our own thoughts, plans and decisions, and conversations somehow become part of the to-do list.
​
In The Road to Daybreak, Henri Nouwen said, "To listen is very hard, because it asks of us so much interior stability that we no longer need to prove ourselves by speeches, arguments, statements or declarations. True listeners no longer have an inner need to make their presence known. They are free to receive, welcome, to accept”.

Listening is one of the greatest of human attributes. Love and true intimacy depend on being heard. We only really get to know someone when we take time to listen, not just to their words but to their heart. Listening opens the door to understanding and in the process something amazing happens … the person feels heard and the door is opened wider.
​
But listening requires a sacrifice of my time and a giving up of myself for another. Whether that is to hear the still small voice of God or the cry of my friend, neighbour or child is it an investment I am willing to make?

Do you have a friend who listens well or are you that friend? Is that a gift you are giving your child? Leave a comment, I'd love to hear your thoughts.
1 Comment
Kathy Vincent
9/12/2016 04:49:26 pm

Love this Glenyss - I know how blessed I am to have a husband that is a great listener. Always a challenge for myself!

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Glenyss Barnham
    ​I'm a mother and grandmother who loves  discovering beauty in unexpected places.

    Archives

    June 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly