Two men were talking one day. One of them said, "My wife talks to herself a lot." His friend answered, "Mine does too, but she doesn't know it. She thinks I'm listening."
Have you really learned to listen?
Patricia Goldman, the vice chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board, tells a story about a stewardess who, frustrated by passenger inattentiveness during her what-to-do-in-an-emergency talk at the beginning of each flight, changed the wording and said, "When the mask drops down in front of you, place it over your navel and continue to breathe normally." Not a single passenger noticed.
Someone once said, "No one ever listened himself out of a job." So often we are too concerned about sharing our own thoughts that we interrupt, or tune people out. Poor eye contact is a dead give away if you are really listening or not. Body language speaks volumes.
We need to work on treating people with dignity; to learn the art of listening to them.
It was said of one U.S. president, "He listened intently to what people said and made them feel they were the only person in the world." I'm sure most of us could learn from this man.
Someone said, "Train yourself to listen. You'll be amazed at what you can learn when your mouth is shut." I wonder if there is a reason for us to have been given two ears and one mouth.
"His thoughts were slow, his words were few,
And never formed to glisten
But he was a joy to all his friends
You should have heard him listen."
Come to think of it, our Creator want to speak to us, too. He said in the Good Book.
"Be still and know that I am God." Psalm 46:10
The old song says, "He speaks to me every where." Are you listening?
Pastor John Giesbrecht
