Day 2 - Why Listen?

This post is written for Write Tribe second day theme: Answer a Question

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Listening is act of Love – to listen is to Love

I have been very lucky in my life; for I have always found very authentic and credible persons in the form of friends, spiritual guides/gurus, mentors, teachers, colleagues who were always there for me to listen to me whenever I needed help.

I experience a higher and deeper sense of gratitude because whatever I am now today is because of all those lovely people who gave time to me, listen to my struggles, helped me make decisions at the appropriate times of life, and directed me to value persons more than things, and have taught me to listen with love.

I thought I have become a good listener; ask my daughter, and she will complain I am not listening;

I am still learning to be a good listener.

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To Listen is to Understand 

(not judge, evaluate, question, take information and use it against the person.)

This is so common, we find very few people who listen to Understand.. …Most of the time we come across people who are just hearing, waiting to judge, getting ready to answer, evaluating, questioning the  motivations/intentions of the persons and also taking the information to be used against and also misinterpret them. 

No doubt, more than ever today, we find there is a great need for counselors in our country; because there are people of all age group looking for someone who can LISTEN without judging, without any prejudice, without evaluating them and questioning their motives and intentions.

Just by providing understanding, we can help persons from getting into severe psychological problems, and sometimes we can even prevent them from self-harm, suicide, and prevent them to get into smoking and alcohol addictions.

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Listening also is therapeutic and can heal

While dealing with domestic violence, the first thing that I do is to listen to the victims, who have so much of pent up emotions; and they seem to remember with such details, all that has been happening in their marital life and they continue to suffer, finding ways and means to deal with violence that has been going on for years.  

Listening is therapeutic and provides psychological space for them unburden themselves giving chance for healing and moving on to take the next step towards empowerment.

What are your thoughts on Listening ?