Shhh. Be quiet. Just for a moment or two.
Ok, so you’re not speaking. But how much noise are you making?
Is there a din going on inside your mind?
Are your thoughts clattering off into the past or the future, or chattering away about various things all at once?
Do your thoughts make so much noise that it’s hard to think?
And when our thoughts make a constant racket it’s not only ourselves that we disturb.
You must have had that feeling…when you know someone isn’t listening to you? They’re looking at you, maybe even nodding in response. But you can tell that they’re involved in their own thoughts. They’re stuck in their own world.
Maybe they’re wondering what they want to say next.
Or relating what you’re saying to something that’s happened to them.
Or comparing themselves to you.
Or itching to disagree with you.
Or desperate to butt in!
Whatever it is, it’s all about them.
Whatever they hear is filtered through their own maelstrom.
There’s so much noise in their heads
that anything outside is only heard faintly.
To be a good listener you need to be ‘good’ at silence. And that’s about having a quiet mind.
Being quiet is a skill that’s worth developing.
Silence is a source of great strength (Lao Tzu)
If you can listen to others without the noise of yourself getting in the way, then you’ll be able to hear what others are really saying.
You’ll learn more.
You’ll enjoy more.
You’ll connect more.
If you’re quiet you’ll hear more.
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