Chatty Crone

Listening

Hearing is one of the body's five senses. But listening is an art. ~ Frank Tyger

Do you have the art of listening?

Do you pay attention when others talk to you?

Do you look someone in the eye when you talk or do you avoid eye to eye contact?
Do you look at body language? 80% of communication is body language, not words.
Do you answer people when they communicate to you or grunt?

Just me thinkin again, but I feel the art of communication is dying. Since the earliest Nintendo games, to the computer, to the Internet, and onto the cell phones people are 'connected' more to devices than to people.

I'm a little worried for my grandson's generation. It's kind of like the movie Wall-E. We even have to limit his computer time and we always watch what he's playing and doing because kids are so suggestible!

When I go grocery shopping I see people coming towards me talking - I think they're going to say hello and then I see they are are the phone. Who do you talk to when you grocery shop? Me, I'm thinking about groceries. I love to cook and I'm trying to figure out how I can make the same dishes, but with lower calories these days.

The other part of communication is how it makes you feel. Communication can (?) make you feel better than a computer can. Now I do have lots of friends out of state and emails are a fabulous way to keep in touch in those situations, but once in awhile, a phone call or a visit is a way to 'catch up'. Many times I'm writing and I leave out this detail or that, because I'm in a hurry or tired of writing. Hard to believe for some I know, but it's true.

The greatest compliment that was ever paid me was when someone asked me what I thought, and attended to my answer. ~ Henry David Thoreau

The greatest gift I can conceive of having from anyone is to be seen by them, heard by them, to be understood and touched by them. The greatest gift I can give is to see, hear, understand and to touch another person. When this is done I feel contact has been made. ~ Virginia Satir

Now I'm the first one for computers and all this jazz, but I enjoy making contact. That's life, that's living. Every one wants to be heard. It's a priceless gift we can give to one another.