I can remember as a child my parents watching a television show call Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. and how one of the show’s main characters, Sargent Carter, would often yell “I can’t hear you!” Suddenly, there was the sound of laughter, both on the TV and in our den. There are some days when it feels like the world is shouting back at me “I can’t hear you!” and it doesn’t seem quite so funny any more…
It does not matter how young or old, we all still want to know that people care enough to listen. I sometimes find myself having to apologize to my husband or one of my sons by saying “Sorry, but I wasn’t paying attention; start over, please!” We don’t always need to agree and we don’t always speak to persuade. Perhaps we hope to inform, encourage or just make our opinion known. Nonetheless, our ultimate goal is to be heard.
While we have your attention, why not check out our 5-Alive section on 5 Ways to Encourage Others by Becoming a Better Listener. We can each become a better listener because we all have at least one person in our life – our child, spouse, in-law, grandparent, boss, parent, neighbor, or friend – who desperately wants to be heard and yes, we do mean really heard! Why not try a little harder today to be a better listener to those around you?
So, having said that
… we’d love to hear from you! How can we encourage you? Is there someone in your life you would like to encourage? Do you need some suggestions? Better yet, do you have any tips you can share on ways to encourage others? You are important to us and we value your feedback. No, we’re not desperate; and we haven’t run out of theme ideas for our blog yet, we would just like to hear from you! Are you really listening? If so, leave us a comment, or click here to send us an e-mail.
