Deep listening is miraculous for both listener and speaker. When someone receives us with open-hearted, non-judging, intensely interested listening, our spirits expand.
-Sue Patton


So I have this planner, this Franklin Covey planner that was given to me as a gift from the company when I first started my job.

Not only did it make me feel appreciated and organized, it also was a great test of my decision-making skills because I got to choose the theme of my pages.

I ended up choosing themed pages based on the book 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.

I have never read this book, so I cannot voice an opinion one way or the other, but the combination of nature scenes as well as quotes on the top of each daily page…..

tripped my trigger.

The above quote was from the top of page April 5th.
I made that up, I truly do not know the exact date so if you have the same themed pages please do not stress yourself.

Anyway, I LOVED this quote, and I don’t even know who Sue Patton is (not on Wikipedia, trust me, I checked), but regardless of her lack of Wiki-famousity, I thought this was super insightful.

People love to talk but LOVE to be heard….

There is a difference.

You can totally tell when someone is really listening to you. Not judging, intensely interested, not thinking about the next thing on their list of things to do, truly heart felt listening….. to YOU.

You know what I’m talking about, you can tell. Remember that time when you were trying to explain something to someone and they “heard” you but didn’t really “hear” you. And how did that make you feel?

Devalued
Unappreciated
Unimportant

Good listening is so valuable but so hard to find.

When someone stops what they are doing, looks you in the eyes, sincerely nods along, doesn’t interject with the ever popular “Oh, that happened to me once” “I remember when “I” “I” “I” “I” “MY””MY””MY””MY””ME””MINE””MY TIME, MY THOUGHTS, MY ATTENTION, MINE, MINE, MINE, MINE, MINE!!!!”

Not only is it a miraculous thing for the person being listened to… but it is also a miraculous thing for the person doing the listening.

And what Christ promotes!

How did that verse go again? You should be QUICK to what???? What should we be fast to do?? Oh, ya.

Try it for yourself, check your motives when listening to a friend, spouse, family member, etc.

See for yourself.

I often wonder what we could get accomplished if we practiced healthy listening skills.