Listening as the Greatest Gift

You can often tell when an animal is listening by the way it turns its ears or its head. Too bad that we humans have almost lost this ability. It could indicate that we really are actively listening. Usually when someone is speaking we are only half-listening: the other half is planning what to say when it seems to be our turn. People talk over (ie louder) each other until conversation is meaningless. It is always funny to watch this on TV talk-shows

I am trying to learn from my First Nations friends to listen without interrupting. In that culture it is a courtesy to the speaker to wait for a little time so that he/she can have time to say something else in case he forgot.

Listening is truly a gift to a speaker. When someone "gets" that you are truly listening, it can bring tears to their eyes. Try it.......