Listening

Opening reading from Coyote Waits by Tony Hillerman

Jean Jacobs was silent for a while, thinking about it, her face full of
sympathy.  She was a talented listener.  He had noticed it before.  When
you talked to this woman, she attended.  She had all her antennae out,
focused on the speaker.  The world was shut out.  Nothing mattered but the
words she was hearing.  Listening was ingrained in the Navajo culture.  One
didn?t interrupt.  One waited until the speaker was finished, gave him a
moment or two to consider additions, or footnotes or amendments, before one
responded.  But even Navajos too often listened impatiently.  Not really
listening, but framing their reply.  Jean Jacobs really listened.


Questions:

When have you been listened to in that way, if ever?  What effect did it
have on you?

Have you ever listened to someone else that way?  How did it feel to you?

In covenant groups, we strive for something called "active listening"?  Is
that the same thing as we have been describing?

What can we do in this group and in our daily lives to become more active
listeners?  What difference would it make in our world?


Closing Reading from City Aphorisms by Mason Cooley:

Listen to what people say about themselves; they will tell you everything
you need to know.