The ability to listen to someone with an open heart and mind is fairly easy when you care about them ( for me anyhow). Hear me out. I love listening to people talk. I love stories, I love learning about people. I am an active listener and have been striving to get better about thoughtful responses. Don't get me wrong, I dont mean always kind- I mean I think about it a bit before I respond. I'd much rather share conversation with someone who says " let me think about that for a minute" than one that jolts out a shallow response. In speaking there is indeed action. It is harder when emotions are heating up, or when you are waiting for them to make a mistake in their speaking. Those looking for an argument are sure to find it. That's an action as well.
The meat of this post is that I have been honing in on comparing what people talk about vs. what they do about it. Everyone. Not just close family and friends, not just political persona and stars. Everyone. I hear a lot of people say " there is nothing I can do about it" after describing a situation. There are many things that are out of our control. Zillions of things we can do nothing about. I do believe that idleness causes trouble. There is a difference between reflecting and being idle.
I know this post is contradictory in many ways. I am not saying people should be busy bodies. But know that people are watching to see if your actions match your words. I said I would write more and have told a few people as a way of accountability. I'm writing now at 5:42, though I've been awake since 4 a.m. Due to bilateral hip and foot pain. I've drank coffee, written a small card to my Uncle who mentioned no one writes letters anymore two days ago. That's active listening.
Each day I make a to do list. Sometimes I add more things to the list that I've already done just to scratch them off and feel productive. Our days don't always go as planned. There is something each of us can do everyday. As our society tries to mold us through media during the digital revolution, I dare you to pause and thoughtfully reflect.
What is it that you should be doing?
Maybe it is resting to replenish your body. Maybe it's reading in order to switch gears and get your mind off of something else. These are healthy actions. What else do you need to do today? I don't mean the checklist of daily chores. Something to change yourself, even a tiny bit. Perhaps you haven't laughed in awhile and need to find a way to do that. It's possible the weight of the world seems upon your shoulders and you need to reach out for help or a listening ear as burdens are heavy and press you down.
Or.... Something to encourage or help another person no matter how small of an impact you think you might make. Some days you are so busy trying to get through your today that you forget there are many 'any bodies' that could use 5 minutes or 5 dollars or five hugs or 5 meals or 5 small favors from you. I love being able to end a conversation by thanking someone for reminding me that I need to do something about 'this or that'...then ACTUALLY doing it. Its impossible for anyone to follow through with every single thing they talk about. Although, it is entirely possible to start paying attention to what others do in comparison to what they say. You can learn a lot about them, but more essential you can learn about yourself. Learning is action.
2 cups of coffee down the hatch and signing,
Sleepless but not devoid of sleep, Syd.
No comments:
Post a Comment