Do You hear? Do you listen?

To Listen:
This thought was spooned yesterday by Sis. Allard’s comment about listening to teenagers.
How well do we listen to one another? Do we stop speaking and allow the other person begins to speak. Are we attentive to their words as they try to commutate with us? Or, are we thinking I need to say ----? Is this listening? Do we pause in our line of words and the other person starts and we look at a new “whatever” whishing we had that “whatever”? Did we hear?
Merriam-Webester on-line:
transitive verbarchaic : to give ear to :
hear intransitive verb
1: to pay attention to sound
2: to hear something with thoughtful attention : give consideration
3: to be alert to catch an expected sound
When was the lasted time we sat with a loved one and “to hear something with thoughtful attention.” To sit and grasp the words they are using to communicate to us their feeling, fears or emotions. Did we do them the respect of, “to hear something with thoughtful attention?” Or was our mind off taking care of quote, “more important business!”
I would ask, for the next few days when someone we love comes to us with the only real form of communication that humans use, words. Let us first before they speak take the time make the effort to clear our mind, so that we can “to hear something with thoughtful attention.” Thus rendering to them the best we have in thoughtful attention to their communication.
Please allow me to leave you with a thought I gathered for an instructor in an Interpersonal Communication class. “The next time you kiss your loved one. STOP and think where am I?”
Mervi