What if you really listened to understand? Now I mean, really listened to understand what that person is thinking and feeling and why.
Our society has moved to a dangerous part of history where we have powerful narratives and beliefs about how things need to be, and we get dogmatic and sink into what we believe as opposed to being very curious about why someone thinks differently.
We often believe that “our truth” is “the” truth.
What do others know that I don’t? We are changed by hanging around with enlightened, wise people and truly listening for understanding.
Our culture has recently normalized rude, dogmatic stances. But it is not okay for us to cut people off in the middle of a sentence. It is not okay to say “nope, I’m not even going to listen to that, this is crazy.” To take things in and be open is how we grow as human beings.
Listen, the world would still be thought to be flat had Galileo and Copernicus not risked their reputations and faced significant opposition to challenge the thinking that was considered to be “the consensus of experts.”
That’s why we need to listen for understanding and truly seek wisdom in the people around us. Take it all in, as opposed to putting up a defense, saying “I’ve got this, I know this.” There’s always so much more to learn.
– Roxanne Emmerich