The Latest 6/21/20 Blog More to last blog 6/20/20 Blog Fallen Statues 6/14/20 Faith 6/13/20 About Me 6/13/20 Blog Police Protests 6/6/20 Links 5/30/20 Blog Bad Dad 5/16/20 Blog Letter of Apology					SITE UNDER RECONSTRUCTION Check back often

This is the FaceBook post I was talking about in the last blog. I know I said it would be a week, but I felt I needed to get it up quickly. I wish I could blog every day, but I have too many things going on, right now. I'm tired of people not listening. I'm tired of people jumping in with opinions when the person talking has barely started talking. I'm tired of people trying to make things right when the person it matters to says the mistake doesn't need to be fixed. I'm tired of seeing solid facts ignored because the person being told wants it another way. I'm tired of what was set up being torn down by one person who wanted it their way. I'm tired of seeing people being cut out of others' lives because the other person isn't interested in what they have to say. I'm tired of people saying "let it go" when they don't know the whole situation. Essentially, I'm tired of people not listening before they try to help someone. A restaurant once brought me the wrong order. I said several times it was fine. The people I was with sent it back, anyway, knowing I hadn't eaten all day. I was starving with everyone else's food in front of me. NOT LISTENING. An 18 year-old relative of minhe married a 30 year-old and didn't care that nobody approved. She was used and it didn't last a year. NOT LISTENING. A long-time friend of mine just went four years telling doctors the pain was in her ankle and lowe leg. They looked at her knee,back, and heart before they found the prolem, and only because she stubbed her toe. NOT LISTENING. (Get well soon!) One woman gave someone who just wanted to get some answers the brush=-off because she assumed something else, probably bad intentions. NOT LISTENING. Every time we have seen protests degrade over the last twenty years, it's been because *both* sides are NOT LISTENING. People, listening means you let the other side finish, even if you don't agree with what they're saying, and fairly weigh the consequences of what you are told. You don't interrupt, you don't laugh, you dohn't dismiss them, you don't call them names, you accept that you may be the one who is wrong. If they need time, give it to them if you can spare it. Once they're done, acknowledge their points; don't just jump on what you don't agree with. Answer questions honestly, but with tact and prudence. Expect all the same of them. Listening is a skill taught in most countries. In the USA, it's not. This is the root of all our problems, today. I just explained it. Please start doing it. To summarize, our world is in chaos because the only one anybody is listening to is themselves. It is critical that we actually listen to others. This doesn't just mean hearing them; it means considering the consequences of what they say. This is absent in much of today's society. You have to ask yourself questions like these: Are they serious? If it's in a joking manner, you don't know if they can be taken seriously. If they're sarcastic, you can't know if they can be believed. Are they looney? Sometimes, people will say things that indicate they are just somewhere off the deep end. But be careful, because sometimes the truth sounds like it. Are they well-informed? How well-versed are they in what they are talking about? Second-hand knowledge doesn't means little because that person doesn't have all the information they need. What is the meaning of what they are saying? Subtext is critical to understanding. What the words together imply is more important than the words themselves. Is there anything they're not saying? If there are gaps in their statements, these can imply something more is going on than what they're telling you. These are just some of the questions that must go through your mind if you're actually listening. An exhaustive list is impossible, but these are some of the more common ones that should be used. As of June 21, the post had 7 likes, 6 loves, and no negative reactions. This is more than I usually get. Most agreed in full; one said he agreed with most of it.

Web page designed and maintained by W G Walters.

All information copyright(c)2005-2013 with all rights reserved unless otherwise noted.