The Importance of Listening

I had a good reminder today of the importance of listening deeply to people. A person came to chat with me about an issue in their life at the moment. I thought I knew what we would be talking about, but we actually ended up discussing something completely different. The presenting issue of the person was actually hiding a deeper yearning that was waiting to be discovered.

I wonder how often we really listen to each other. I know I am often guilty of hearing what I want to hear. I wonder how many times I have missed the point and people have gone away feeling unheard. Our discussions with people are often two way and we can be so busy coming up with our next comment that we do not hear with clarity what has been said. 

The person I spent time with today went away thanking me for my "words of wisdom". I don't think there was anything particularly wise in anything I said. The real difference was that I had heard this person on a deeper level. I was reminded of the gift that I have received from others in the past - the gift of being heard.