"Listen" | Reflection by Karen Isaacs

We do too little listening. As some posters state, “We do not listen to understand. We listen to reply.” Our minds jump to what we are going to say when the person speaking stops or takes a pause. I’ve taught listening as a communication skill for many years. For students that seems counter-intuitive. Isn’t communicating saying things? How can listening be a communication skill?

But how can we communicate if we don’t listen? To make any connection with others we need to listen to them. Not to “hear them” which is strictly physiological, but to listen. To try to understand.

But listening to others is not the only thing we need to listen to.  We need to also listen to ourselves, our hearts, our souls, and those intuitive feelings that I sometimes call my “gut reaction.” We need to listen not just to individuals but to the greater world around us – to nature, to society, to those who are disenchanted or dismayed.

This Lenten season, I want to practice listening in all its forms. To listen to God, but also to listen to myself and my body, to listen to the world, to listen with more than just my ears but with my heart, my compassion and my empathy.

How we respond is also part of listening. Do we respond with suggestions, judgments, empathy? Every time we listen, we need to respond differently. Too often we all use “boilerplate” responses; our tendency to respond in just one way. We need to find other ways of responding.

Where will that lead me? I hope I will become more centered, more able to deal with distractions, more connected to both the real and the spiritual. I hope I gain understanding.