Listen Up!

"We have two ears and one mouth, so we should listen twice as much as we speak"

“… So I told her off because I could not take it anymore and there she is getting everyone’s sympathy as if she is the one wronged...  Hello! Are you even listening?!” shouted my friend when she did not get any response from me. I woke up with a start and tried to reassure her,”Of course, I am.” Unconvinced, she threw a pillow at me saying, “You always do that. You doze off with your eyes open whenever I talk about my problems!” to which I countered, “That’s not true! I heard every word and I think you did well” And that was not entirely a lie because I did listen to the parts of that one-sided conversation. If you have any such friend you must be familiar with these situations where you ultimately turn into a bad listener after listening for a while. Sometimes you feel guilty for being one and at times you have no other choice. However, listening is a skill that if you are not well equipped with, you may miss out on the most important things in your life.

                Listening is not just limited to your ability to hear things and afterwards forgetting everything what you have heard. It is also about paying attention to the people you care about. They say speaking is an art and how you express yourself and use your tact is rather important. I, on the other hand, believe that the art of speaking with tact comes from another essential art of listening. If you can’t pay heed to what one has to say, how would you possibly respond to that person, tactfully. Imagine having a group of friends in which some are well-versed, some are amusing and others are sensitive and thoughtful. Who would you pick to talk to if you are in some trouble? A troubled person always seeks the company of some thoughtful and sensitive friend who would not give long rhetorical speeches or takes the told-you-so stance but listens to him carefully and empathizes with him. Therefore, it’s also a reciprocal process if you sincerely listen to what others have to say, you also learn how to speak tactfully.

                Another of the reason why this art is so primary to our social growth and practical life is that it is through listening we perceive things around us which we usually don’t through our vision. Though, our vision shows us what is palpable to senses, the art of listening brings us the new perception of things, ideas and thoughts. It renders us to learn from others and their experiences, in fact, it helps us in our growth as human beings.

                So, don’t shut out people around you even if their babbling wears you down for a while maybe there is something for you to learn too. Then again, if their psychobabble continues and there is no remedy for their troubled-soul, don’t hesitate to give them a piece of your mind. Moreover, try not to turn into Aunty Agony when someone comes for a nice heart-to heart chat because human beings don’t always liked to be told what is practical, sometimes they just need a good friend and a patient listener.

Happy Listening! =)

Author - E.B (Extraterrestrial Being)