The Art of Listening

Sometimes I'm deaf.

(When I wear black studded earrings I feel like a trendy rebel - just thought you should know)

It's really hard for me to make out sentences let alone words from someone when there are surrounding noises. This is especially true when I'm in a crowd of people, because so many others are talking at the same time. I went in for a hearing test that showed I had perfectly normal hearing. I relayed to the testers that if there were other noises accompanying though, I wouldn't have done so well on the exam. Unfortunetly, they stated that that just wasn't how these tests worked. I was pretty bummed about the results; that handicap would have been nice to blame for my inability to listen.Why the rant? Because I LOVE listening, almost as much as I love being heard, and my inability to block out other noises is hindering me from being able to truly listen to people.

Though ears are for hearing, I believe that hearts are for listening. Listening means feeling, feeling for another's words that requires no similar story nor wisdomous(spell check and I are having a bit of a quarrel about this word, but I don't care I'm using it!) advice. It's the simple act of genuinely showing that someone's speech is valued, and in turn, that they themselves are valued.

I find it aggravatingly irritating when someone constantly either ignores what I say or immediately acts upon it.

Ignores - As in doesn't give any sort of interested word or even a glance your way.

Immediately acts upon - As in their brain is constantly spinning it's wheel on what they will say once you finally shut your mouth.They pounce on their own story or advice the very second you're done.

Either way, it's not listening. You are either viewing the speaker as invisible or as an object in which to bounce your own speech off of. It's not showing love, nor care, nor concern, which is what listening was always meant to show.

All of us I'm sure have had our share of experiences with friends, family, or acquaintances who have not listened when we wanted them to and it hurts.

But thankfully, no matter how many people in my life that may seem to not be listening, I know there will always be one who did. One who not only wanted to listen to my story, but know exactly with a perfect knowledge what my story was. Exactly how I felt in each situation, exactly how I acted and reacted, exactly in which ways I struggled and in which ways I succeeded... Exact enough that He died for me to know it, and to be my forever advocate because He knows my story. Christ, the perfect listener.

This post isn't supposed to be a 'high horse' type post, I truly have had many moments where I didn't listen when I should have. Only so many instances can be blamed on my deaf ears and mommy brain. A blanketed blog post apology may not be enough to fix any damages done, but I'm sorry regardless if I ever didn't listen to you when I should have.

I don't think that listening is a lost art upon us mortals, but I do think that it's an art often misplaced. People are listening, but no longer to the individual, they're putting their listening efforts into social media headaches and headlines. And it's sad, especially when it can make such a difference in someone else's day to just listen.

Heaven's slice is listening.