listening

Edward knew what it was like to say over and over again the names of those you had left behind. He knew what it was like to miss someone. And so he listened. And in his listening, his heart opened wide and then wider still. (page 103)

Wisdom is the reward for a lifetime of listening when you would have preferred to talk.

You know why I like to talk to you, Delia? You never interrupt with your experiences. Not jiggling your foot till you get a chance to jump in with your life history.

It is precisely when we hear little from our partner which frightens, shocks, or sickens us that we should begin to be concerned, for this may be the surest sign that we are being gently lied to or shielded from the other__ imagination, whether out of kindness or from a touching fear of losing our love. It may mean that we have, despite ourselves, shut our ears to information that fails to conform to our hopes _ hopes which will thereby be endangered all the more. My view of human nature is that all of us are just holding it together in various ways _ and that__ okay, and we just need to go easy with one another, knowing that we__e all these incredibly fragile beings.

When you are in psychological distress and someone really hears you without passing judgement on you, without trying to take responsibility for you, without trying to mold you, it feels damn good!

A friend asks, "Tell me one word which is significant in any kinds of relationship." Another friend says, "LISTEN!

You have permission to walk away from anything that doesn't feel right. Trust your instincts and listen to your inner-voice _ it's trying to protect you.

If you can sit with your pain, listen to your pain and respect your pain _ in time you will move through your pain.

I tend to avoid people who always have something to say _ and those who expect me to always have something to say.

We teach what we need to learn. And we teach it until we get it.

We all need to humble ourselves from time to time and expose ourselves to new perspectives and ideas, even those of the non-experts, or else our growth potential gets weighed down with the ignorance of ego and habit.

Sometimes the best way to learn a lesson isn't just hearing the words, but putting it into practice by experimenting with it and finding its truth for yourself instead of taking someone else__ word for it.

Spend your leisure time in cultivating an ear attentive to discourse, for in this way you will find that you learn with ease what others have found out with difficulty.

Sometimes your belief system is really your fears attached to rules.

Don't ever get to the point where you can't be taught because life is a classroom and everyone owns a pen.

A good listener is one who always pays attention, not to gain, but to learn.

Good listening places us on an edifice of learning complex human behavior.

Be aware of the high notes, of the blissful faces and their soft messages, and listen for the silent message of a highly decorated gift.