Is “listening” a conundrum for most people? It must be because listening is as fundamental a requirement of relationships and communication as possible. When one person listens to another, do they hear them, understand them, or respond intelligently? Minus listening, is any relationship possible? I don’t think so.
Take religion and belief in God: It is said that God communicates in every possible language to humanity all the time and at every moment. If true, humankind is also given “free will,” which means God may be communicating, but it is man who chooses to listen or not. And since this is my paper and I’m doing the writing, I believe too many people are not present. If not present, they do not listen, and obviously do not hear God and receive no message, warning, or help.
So, how important is listening? Maybe, our most important responsibility to ourselves and those close or important to us, including friends, coworkers, leaders, and followers? Indeed, worse is one not listening to their child. What is the lesson being taught?
If a marriage has love well mixed into the relationship, I believe that the couple “listen” to each other, and if they listen, they hear and work to understand each other. This does not mean they necessarily agree on any given subject, but it does mean they experience dialogue. In marriage or any meaningful relationship, agreement isn’t the important issue. Understanding is. People who are in “listening” relationships are the luckiest. Everything else that follows is what it is, but it can not be false. This, because listening leads to hearing and understanding. Maybe agreement—maybe not.
Sy
