In listening, I received a giift

just today I listened to you

share your hope, your dreams,

your screams of hurt and inattention

your celebrations, triumphs and success

your world as you see it

expectations and disappointments

You made me realize:

You matter, not I, in this moment

To listen to all, said,

but you said more, and I heard that too

and you shortened out some words,

but I could catch that too

To view your world just not in black and white

but in full colour, resplendent of who you are

not just a visual, but to catch the sound

the feel and the most of all,

that ‘lump in the throat’ that is yours

in your sharing you left me a gift

That I could be worth ‘sharing with’

To realize that I can only offer understanding

If I myself understood myself and you

While I heard myself ask many things of you

I realize I must ask many of myself

All I have to work on is I, and you, You

This has been my realisation. Thank you. 

Atticus Finch
If you just learn a single trick, Scout, you`ll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view . . . until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it. - Atticus Finch  -To Kill A Mockingbird

Chuang Tzu
"The hearing that is only in the ears is one thing. The hearing of the understanding is another.  But the hearing of the spirit is not limited to any one faculty, to the ear, or to the mind. Hence  it demands the emptiness of all the faculties. And when the faculties are empty, then the whole being listens. There is then a direct grasp of what is right there before you that can never be heard with the ear or understood with the mind." 
Chinese philosopher Chuang Tzu 

Mark Brady

"When I ask you to listen and you start giving advice, you  have not done what I have asked. 

When I ask you to listen and you start telling me why I shouldn't feel the way I do, you are invalidating my feelings.
When I ask you to listen and you start trying to solve my problems, I feel underestimated and disempowered.
When I ask you to listen and you start telling me what I need to do, I feel offended, pressured and controlled.
When I ask you to listen, it does not mean I am helpless. I may be faltering, depressed or discouraged, but I am not helpless.
When I ask you to listen and you do things that I can and need to do for myself, you hurt my self-esteem.