Open Your Ears.... Not Your Mouth

Have you ever noticed someone completely missed the point when they voice their opinions in class?  Have you ever been talking to someone and realized they weren’t paying attention to your message? Has any one ever asked how you were doing and if you say anything other than, “I’m fine,” all the sudden they’re in a hurry to get somewhere? Sometimes when you spend a few minutes, a day, a week, a month or more focusing on the lives of others rather than your own, you achieve much more than you would concentrating on your self.  Every time you lend an ear for someone to speak their mind and voice their concerns you alter their future.  Whether or not you can respond with some groundbreaking advice or not, listening is one of the greatest services you can offer to humanity. 

An old Swedish saying encapsulates the idea perfectly, “speaking is silver,

silence is gold.”  You learn more about your place in the world when you take a moment to just shut your mouth and take everything in.  True knowledge comes from observation rather than articulation. If you want to see the true essence of your relationships, community and society as a whole you need to use your eyes and ears and bite your tongue.  Too often do we prematurely voice our opinion and interrupt someone or something that may have altered your mindset completely. 

Most people live in a self-centered world in which they believe they are the all-knowing focal point of the universe.  I’ll admit it, even I’ve gone through times when I tuned out the people and environment around me to focus on myself.  In fact sometimes it’s healthy to put your goals on the forefront, especially in regards to your wellbeing.  Allowing this to be a lifelong attitude, however, will prevent you from experiencing the knowledge and happiness associated with real companionship. 

Next time you find yourself dominating a conversation, do yourself a favor and rest your vocal chords.  Allow others to share their opinions, you just might find a flaw or gap in your perspective.  It’s often times difficult to sit there and listen to someone who you find blatantly uninformed or for lack of a better way to say it, just wrong.  At the very least, you can find out the attitudes, emotions and values they attach to their discourse.  Even when someone is out of their element, listening and absorbing their input will almost certainly give you a greater understand of what draws you to that person.  If you’re upset that someone won’t hear you out, realize that they more than likely have something on their mind they really need to get out in the open and lend them an ear.  Hell, listening to someone else’s problems can help you realize yours don’t carry much gravity.