“People start to heal the moment they feel heard.” ~ Cheryl Richardson
This is true for me. How about you?
When I'm heard, I feel valued and validated, respected and loved. And when another person is distracted and not paying attention or just doesn't understand what I'm expressing, I feel frustrated. But I love it when the other person says something like, "I don't understand, but I want to, so let's try again."
Of course, that does not always happen. Sometimes it seems we have no ears to hear, limited space in our minds to consider new ideas, and limited room in our hearts to welcome people with perspectives that differ from ours.
We have to learn to listen but we naturally know, even in early childhood, that we want to be heard. We need to be heard.
In fact, our nine-year-old granddaughter recently commented about how good it feels when she is listened to and heard.
Imagine if we all cared enough to listen and to seek to understand one another, like in the Prayer of St. Francis. So much healing would happen in us and among us.
O Divine Master, grant that I may
Not so much seek to be consoled as to console
To be understood, as to understand...
Let's seek to understand, to console, to be a source of peace.
And to love,
Charlene
*Thank you, Mary Kay, for sharing one of your favorite quotes with us. This is one of my favorites too!
THE TENTH GIFT IS WISDOM. May you hear its soft voice. - from The Twelve Gifts of Birth
Let's listen to one another and to the soft voice of wisdom within us.
