Over the holidays, we frequently find our selves in conversations appearing to be irrelevant or boring. We scrunch up our faces as unspoken responses as we busily rush through mental lists of things yet to accomplish. We are not listening at all to the ramblings of the other person. The only thing we are waiting for is the period at the end of the final sentence!
Listening is an art enhancing our ability to feel. Being present to another person's story can create greater understanding for our own lives and develops our ability to appropriately feel or have compassion. Listening to one and other helps to create peace and calm within each of us and contributes to the quality of our surroundings.
Even if we find our selves cornered by a rocket scientist, we can use our listening skills to capture insight and understanding. If we watch a person's face as they speak, we may notice: enthusiasm or disdain; joy or sorrow; tearing eyes or steel cold depths; or a particular woman or man hiding behind a mask.
It is no longer unusual while networking at a professional or social gathering to discover the invisible grid running through our lives. Investing time in someone we learn that we know a person in common, or used to have a mutual friend, or attended the same college in different years. This information comes within the stories we truly listen to and they are little gifts making our big wide world smaller and smaller. The more we truly listen we are more apt to sense and feel the connectedness amongst us all.
By opening our hearts instead of critiquing, we begin to realize everyone has a message for us. In some way, words that appear to be randomly shared, resonate with our immediate situations. The other person rarely realizes he or she has just released valuable information.
These messages, I believe, come from Divine Spirit. I believe we are used for another person's benefit. Perhaps for a brief exchange of words, we are instant messengers, angels if you will.
There have been times, someone will approach me and thank me for sharing my information with them as it became a turning point in their life. It is such a revelation to me and I search my mind trying to think of what I could have possibly said! It would be too embarrassing to say, "What did I say?" Such a question would seem to minimize the value of his or her experience. I fully realize Divine Spirit has used me to deliver information to a person when needed with me being totally unaware.
God does speak through each and every one of us. So listen better and be amazed at the gifts you receive. The art of listening makes life much more exciting. Listening a little bit more closely, trying to anticipate what message you may hear, or just observing a person for the very first time even though we have known them for years enhances our experiences. The art of listening makes us feel more connected to individuals and all that is holy.
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