Have you ever caught yourself on “auto-pilot” in a conversation?
For me, it usually happens during a familiar conversation or recurring situation.
My mind tells me the answer before the other person even asks or finishes!
Now maybe it’s different for you, but I catch myself going into an auto-pilot mode when I start deciding what must be done even before I have really listened and or HEARD what the other person is trying to say.
OK, so this is part of the standard fare for raising kids under 5 when it comes to junk food and unsafe toys, we DO know the answers before they form the question,
but this type of listening hurts us in all other aspects of our lives.
Think about it.
We like to be listened to, heard, and feel that we have been understood.
It’s a spiritual principle that we need to treat others in the same way that we wish to be treated.
So maybe this is the 3rd time Aunt Mabel has told you the story about her trip to the grocery with the wrong coupons.
Perhaps by actively listening to her and building conversation around her story, she may finally feel heard and stop telling you the same story.
How do you listen?
Does the solution noise in your head drown out what the other person is trying to say? …
Check your own experience and…
Take time to listen instead of waiting to speak.
“We never gave the spiritual side of life a fair hearing.” Big Book pg. 50
Lord, let us listen with our hearts and hear with You Holy Spirit that resides in us all, AMEN.
“To answer before listening– that is folly and shame. Proverbs 18:13
Have a blessed day Y’all!
Join me in looking at the things we face daily with passages from both the Big Book and Bible!
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=pastor+mark+farley&ref=nb_sb_noss
How about a daily dose of hope and inspired thought?
