The first duty of love
is to listen. [Paul Tillich]
Seems like an oxymoron, duty
of love, but I don’t think so. I think if there is one thing I know makes
me feel truly loved it is when someone listens. NOT what they hear. NOT what
they think. NOT what they agree or disagree with. Just THAT they listen. And especially when they DO so
quietly.
Listening is a
magnetic and strange thing, a creative force. The friends who listen to us are
the ones we move toward. When we are listened to, it creates us, makes us
unfold and expand. [Karl A. Menninger]
The thing is that when I think of why I am drawn to someone
or why I ease away from another person, it often comes down to how quietly I
can listen to them. It might BE strange, but there it is. If I spend my
listening time talking myself in off a ledge that listening to the person is
forcing me out on, I would rather eat glass.
When people discuss
religion, it is a pity that they often become excited and argue. We should
merely listen, as one does on a dark night; we should merely gaze at the stars. [Haniel Long]
Replace religion
with anything… Listening quietly precludes all argument.
I love you, Currie
3 comments:
Reading your words today and looking at your image was like gazing into a pool of water and seeing my face reflected in you. Glorious....
I am a listener, too - and find myself feeling exceptionally blessed when someone simply listens back....
Glory be!
OMGosh! That last quote made me laugh right out loud. Great advice. Pretend it is a dark night and gaze at the stars--Love that!! But that might fool them into thinking you are really listening when you are actually talking yourself back off the edge--LOL! I usually glaze over when people talk religion or politics. ;)
I love your art. I was trying to figure out how you did it. Happy New year.
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