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Listening. Some of us hear what others are saying but we don’t listen. Do you hear the wind and listen to the sound it makes? I usually don’t but listening to nature and the natural environment around us, it should be the same as listening to people. Not just hearing but listening. If I don’t listen, how can I be grateful for all of the beautiful sounds? If I don’t listen to what others are saying to me and stop thinking about what I want to say or thinking of something else while they are speaking, how is that very respectful? I am not being very gracious and giving of myself, my ears, my heart and my time if I’m not listening.
The other night I went to a special dinner and heard Steve Covey speak on his book, The Speed of Trust. I tried very hard to not just hear what Steve Covey was saying but listen to his message and understand what he was saying. Listen to what others around me were saying about his presentation and their interpretations. It really was a remarkable presentation and much of what he said left me thinking about who I trust around me and who trusts me. I started applying it to my intimate relationships, the blogesphere, my readers, my professional life, my children, etc. If I trust those around me, not because they earn it but because I believe in them and give them this trust until they prove otherwise. The concept is backwards from what most of us employ. Most, decide to give trust after it is earned rather than trusting a person and setting the bar and expectations high because we know they are capable of reaching it.
These two paragraphs, listening and trust aren’t tied together very eloquently, I know. They have something to do with how I am going to begin showing gratitude and respect towards people and nature. Life just seems to pass me by and I am hearing the wind howling outside and the birds chirping but I don’t stop and take the time to listen to the beautiful sound of nature and appreciate it. My children are talking to me and I’m nodding my head, typing on the computer, cooking dinner but I’m not stopping to really listen to what they are trying to tell me. Listening and seeing their faces, appreciating their tone and expressions. Being grateful for the opportunity to be in the present and have them by my side.
Showing gratitude is more then just a thank you and sign of appreciation. It is work in progress and continual. November is on the horizon and many of us know this month for being thankful, showing appreciation and gratitude but it is one month. For me, personally, I am going to try to apply some of what I heard Steve Covey speak on and that is, trusting myself and giving trust to those around me. This means listening to them and believing what they say. A good example, my husband, I don’t often show him how grateful I am to have his help because I am not trusting him. I don’t trust him to do particular things with our children because of my own insecurities and doubt but also because I have done things backwards. I have put it into my head that he should earn the trust verses be trusted because I believe in him. This has led to him feeling unappreciated for his attempts to do things, self-doubt and me not being very grateful. Gratitude and listening is very closely linked to trusting a person and yourself.
Is there someone in your life you aren’t trusting and listening to? Maybe someone who needs to be shown more gratitude and respect by having your trust and being listened to?
Photo: istock
