Listen as a caregiver
Listening and understanding is a form of caregiving. Every form of caregiving is an expression of love. Whether the caregiving occurs in the form of attending to babies and young children, the lonely, the elderly, the frail and the dying, or simply caring for the person who next walks in through the front door, each act of caring is an act of loving.We know that caring does much to sustain everyday life. They hold the key to understanding how to live together well.
The gift of our complete and focused attention is one of the kindest gifts we can give one another. It confers on both giver and receiver a sense of meaning and value. We find that when we focus our attention on another, they become more real for us, the relationship becomes more meaningful, and we become naturally more compassionate.
The solidity of our sense of “I”, obscuring our heart of compassion, begins to dissolve and the “other” becomes our central focus. If we take a moment to think about it, among the more precious moments in our life are those times when we have felt most deeply understood by another human being.
With attention, we feel heard, seen and understood. We are nurtured in the gift of another’s attention. Giving the gift of our attention with the spirit of a caregiver, is to give the greatest gift of all – the gift of skilled listening.
Practise: The next time you are in dialogue with someone, focus on the other person with all your senses. How does the gift of your attention seem to affect the other person?
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1 comment:
Thank you for posting all of these. Such wonderful wisdom to take in. xoxo
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