The Art of Listening

Lately I’ve been noticing that people don’t take the time to listen to what others have to say – particularly if it’s about a subject they feel knowledgeable about. In place of listening, they will either dispense advice or criticism, turning them into the center of attention.

I’ve noticed this mostly because I’ve been feeling “out of sorts” as of late – the whole moving situation has been bugging me a lot – and whenever I’ve tried to tell someone about it, they’ve either told me where I should look, suggested someone I should move in with, or said that I shouldn’t worry about it so much because it’s not a big deal.

It usually ends with me listening to them as they dispense all this great advice.


Don’t get me wrong – the advice is always helpful / true / appreciated, but a lot of times, all people really need is to feel like they’ve been heard. It’s actually one of the reasons why I have this blog – I feel like people listen (or read) what I have to say here more than they do in life.

And of course I’m guilty of this too (I don’t need to hear the end of that question; I already know the answer!) but I try to be good about listening to what people try to tell me. It seems like the simplest thing in the world, but it can be pretty difficult at times (especially when you think know better). But once you learn how to do it, people will respect you for it.

......or they’ll talk your ear off because they know you’ll listen when no one else will. You gotta be careful about that.

There’s a movie I like that exemplifies this called “Mumford;” it’s a great film (with an all-star cast) about a successful small-town Psychiatrist, Dr. Mumford played by Loren Dean, and why so many people come to him with their problems.


….okay, there’s more to the film than that. But I really liked the “listening” aspect of the film.

Anyway, I’ve said what I needed to say about this and I feel a lot better now even though I’m not sure if anyone will actually read this. But I hope you did – thanks for reading! (listening? )