SHOW YOUR LOVE BY TRULY LISTENING

Sharing, so vital to loving communication, stops when you sense the other person is not listening or caring, and the sad part is that often we are not given a second chance. In all of our special and significant relationships, how we communicate is extremely important for it is how we build trust, solve problems, validate one another, and maintain a healthy and happy relationship. Most of us have forgotten or perhaps never learned the fine art of listening. If we listen at all, which is rare, we have the static of our own perceived ideas working constantly until, when all is said and done, we hear not what the person is saying but what we are prepared to hear. The listener is often preparing their own dialogue, planning tomorrow's menu, fantasizing about what they could be doing or places they would rather be, observing and sensing the person's mannerisms, clothes, grammar, sexual quotient. All of these things often seem to be occurring at once and it's only afterwards when arguments and misunderstandings ensue that we see how much we missed.
Whether the communication is with a parent, a child, a colleague, a spouse, a best friend or a lover I suggest you consider this thoughtful poem called Listen:
When I ask you to listen to me and you start giving advice, you have not done what I asked.
When I ask you to listen to me and you begin to tell me why I shouldn't feel that way, you are
    trampling on my feelings,
When I ask you to listen to me and you feel you have to do something to solve my problems, you
    have failed me as strange as that may seem.
Perhaps that's why prayer works for some people because God is mute and doesn't offer advice
     or try to fix things.
God just listens and trusts you to work it out for yourself.
So please, just listen and hear me. And if you want to talk, wait a few minutes for your turn and I
     promise I'll listen to you.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS FOR MY UPCOMING WINE AND WISDOM EVENT, MONDAY THE 23RD FROM 6:30-8:00 AT ST. MARTINS WINE BISTRO WHERE I WILL SPEAK ON THE TOPIC "LOVE IS THE ANSWER FOR HEALTHIER MINDS, BODIES, AND RELATIONSHIPS"