Listening

Listening may be mindful or mindless. Mindful listening, which is depicted as effective than mindless, has several components as represented in the Chinese ideogram for listening. That is the ears, eyes, heart, and undivided attention. A listener gives careful and thoughtful attention and responses to the messages they receive. While this is critical to engaging in meaningful conversations, I do not often listen to other people drawing on all the elements of mindful communication.

I think mindful listening is necessary and valuable in all situations. It is likely to result in more valuable outcomes than mindless listening. For instance, last year, I narrowly revealed from the tone of a friend that they were going through hard times, near depression. Unlike other times, when both of us engaged in oratory conversations, I picked some minified cues and facial expressions that indicated sorrow. Had I not looked at him and channeled my attention to them that day, I would have failed to notice their tribulations.

Similar situation happened when my sister said that she was suffering stomach discomfort. I did not look at her or take her seriously, assuming that she was looking for an exemption of chores. Unfortunately, she was suffering from H. pylori. Had I listened with my heart, I would have intervened early. That entails summarizing, reframing, the understanding of what she had said, and letting her know that I understood her message.