Listening: A Matter of Faith

[Republished from July 28, 2008]

The little child whispered, “God, speak to me.” And a meadowlark sang. But the child did not hear. So the child yelled, “God, speak to me!” And the thunder rolled across the sky. But the child did not listen. The child looked around and said, “God let me see you.” And a star shone brightly. But the child did not notice. And the child shouted, “God show me a miracle!” And a life was born. But the child did not know. So the child cried out in despair, “Touch me God, and let me know you are here!” Whereupon God reached down and touched the child. But the child brushed the butterfly away and walked away unknowingly. Take time to listen. Often times, the things we seek are right underneath our noses. Don’t miss out on your blessing because it isn’t packaged the way that you expect. — Anonymous
 
The ear trieth words as the mouth tasteth meat. — Job 33:16

Take heed then how you hear… — Luke 8:18

If any man have ears to hear, let him hear…with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you. And unto you who hear shall more be given. — Mark 4:23-24
 

Just remaining quietly in the presence of God, listening to Him, being attentive to Him, requires a lot of courage and know-how. — Thomas Merton

Let thy ear be attentive. — Nehemiah 1:6

Let the wise listen and add to their learning and let the discerning get guidance. — Proverbs 1:5

Even a fool is thought wise if he keeps silent and discerning if he holds his tongue. — Proverbs 17:28  

He who answers before listening—that is his folly and his shame.     — Proverbs 18:13

Listen children and be attentive, that you may gain insight.     — Proverbs 4:1 

Live with men as if God saw you, and talk to God as if men were listening. — Athenodorus\

To listen to some devout people, one would imagine that God never laughs. — Ghose Aurobindo
 

If you were once connected with someone, does it make sense that the connection is broken just because of a physical death? No, the connection stays. You may just have to listen differently. You may just have to talk differently. The truth is: the connection is never broken. — Chris Collins

The reason we listen to individuals with receptivity and respect is that we never know whom the Spirit of Christ might choose to speak through on any given occasion. — Martin B. Copenhaver

If we have listening ears, God speaks to us in our own language, whatever that language be. — Mahatma Gandhi

Be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to anger.— James 1:19

One of the things that makes God different from people is that God is always available to listen. —Rabbi David Wolpe

Listen earnestly to anything [your children] want to tell you, no matter what. If you don’t listen eagerly to the little stuff when they are little, they won’t tell you the big stuff when they are big, because to them all of it has always been big stuff. But unless they are talking to you, stay out of it. Indiscriminate eavesdropping is a threat to parental sanity. — Catherine M. Wallace

Humorous Quotations About Listening, Part Three

As International Listening Awareness Month (sponsored by the International Listening Association) progresses, let’s take some time to enjoy several humorous quotations about listening. This posting is part three of a three-part series.

Congress is so strange. A man gets up to speak and says nothing, nobody listens and then everybody disagrees. — Will Rogers

Make sure you have finished speaking before your audience has finished listening. — Dorothy Sarnoff

Marge, it takes two to lie. One to lie and one to listen. — Homer Simpson

Isn’t it interesting that the same people who laugh at science fiction listen to weather forecasts and economists? — Kelvin Throop III

A good listener is a good talker with a sore throat. — Katharine Whitehorn

The true male has never yet walked
Who liked to listen when his mate talked. — Anna Wickhaur

My friend Bob is a radio DJ, and when he walks under a bridge, you can’t hear him talk. — Steven Wright

See parts one and two of this series.

Humorous Quotations About Listening, Part Two

As International Listening Awareness Month (sponsored by the International Listening Association) progresses, let’s take some time to enjoy several humorous quotations about listening. This posting is part two of a three-part series.

The older I grow the more I listen to people who don’t talk much. — Germain G. Glien

The right to be heard does not automatically include the right to be taken seriously. — Hubert Humphrey

One advantage of talking to yourself is that you know at least somebody’s listening. — Franklin P. Jones

The opposite of talking is not listening. The opposite of talking is waiting.— Fran Lebowitz

If you want to know how your girl will treat you after marriage, just listen to her talking to her little brother. — Sam Levenson

The difference between listening to a radio sermon and going to church. . . is almost like the difference between calling your girl on the phone and spending an evening with her. — Dwight L. Moody

Boredom is having to listen to someone talk about himself when I want to talk about me. — Tom Paciorek

An intellectual snob is someone who can listen to the William Tell Overture and not think of The Lone Ranger. — Dan Rather

And now listen to some Out to Lunch Jokes from Katey, a second-grader

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Humorous Quotations About Listening, Part One

Now that March has arrived, it is  International Listening Awareness Month (sponsored by the International Listening Association); let’s take some time to enjoy several humorous quotations about listening. This posting is part one of a three-part series.

History repeats itself because no one listens the first time. — Anonymous

Conversation: a vocal competition in which the one who is catching his breath is called the listener. — Anonymous

“You know, it’s at times like this when I’m trapped in a Vogon airlock with a man from Betelgeuse and about to die of asphyxiation in deep space that I really wish I’d listened to what my mother told me when I was young!” “Why, what did she tell you?” “I don’t know, I didn’t listen!” — Douglas Adams

My wife says I never listen to her. At least I think that’s what she said. — Anonymous

If you want your spouse to listen and pay strict attention to every word you say, talk in your sleep.— Anonymous

It’s my job to talk and yours to listen, but please, let me know if you finish before I do. — Anonymous

Women like silent men. They think they’re listening. — Marcel Archard

To understand this important story, you have to understand how the telephone company works. Your telephone is connected to a local computer, which is in turn connected to a regional computer, which is in turn connected to a loudspeaker the size of a garbage truck on the lawn of Edna A. Bargewater of Lawrence, Kan. Whenever you talk on the phone, your local computer listens in. If it suspects you’re going to discuss an intimate topic, it notifies the computer above it, which listens in and decides whether to alert the one above it, until finally, if you really humiliate yourself, maybe break down in tears and tell your closest friend about a sordid incident from your past involving a seedy motel, a neighbor’s spouse, an entire religious order, a garden hose and six quarts of tapioca pudding, the top computer feeds your conversation into Edna’s loudspeaker, and she and her friends come out on the porch to listen and drink gin and laugh themselves silly. What Women Want: To be loved, to be listened to, to be desired, to be respected, to be needed, to be trusted, and sometimes, just to be held. What Men Want: Tickets for the world series.— Dave Barry 

Bore, n.: A person who talks when you wish him to listen. — Ambrose Bierce

An actor’s a guy who if you ain’t talkin’ about him, ain’t listening. — Marlon Brando

It’s a rare person who wants to hear what he doesn’t want to hear. — Dick Cavett

I’ll defend to the death your right to say that, but I never said I’d listen to it! — Tom Galloway

Quotations on Listening and Caring

Earlier this month, so many people I care about were struggling in so many ways . . . the death of friends in a car accident, serious health issues, and more. What could I possibly say to them to help ease their pain? I thought and thought. And then I remembered the two most important words in situations like these: “I’m listening.”

Here are several of my favorite quotations on listening and caring:

Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around. — Leo Buscaglia

Only when the clamor of the outside world is silenced will you be able to hear the deeper vibration. Listen carefully. — Sarah Ban Breathnach

Listening is noting what, when and how something is being said. Listening is distinguishing what is not being said from what is silence. Listening is not acting like you’re in a hurry, even if you are. Listening is eye contact, a hand placed gently upon an arm. Sometimes, listening is taking careful notes in the person’s own words. Listening involves suspension of judgment. It is neither analyzing nor racking your brain for labels, diagnoses, or remedies before the person is done relating her symptoms. Listening, like labor assisting, creates a safe space where whatever needs to happen or be said can come. — Allison Para Bastien

My only advice is to stay aware, listen carefully and yell for help if you need it. — Judy Blume

I tell you everything that is really nothing, and nothing of what is everything, do not be fooled by what I am saying. Please listen carefully and try to hear what I am not saying. — Charles C. Finn

Quotations on Listening and Family

As we approach International Listening Awareness Month (sponsored by the International Listening Association) in March, let’s take some time to reflect on several quotations about listening and its impact on our families. 

The most basic of all human needs is the need to understand and be understood. The best way to understand people is to listen to them. — Ralph Nichols

Education commences at the mother’s knee, and every word spoken within the hearing of little children tends towards the formation of character. – Hosea Ballou

I think a lot of our problems are because people don’t listen to our children. It is not always easy. They’re not always so brilliant that you want to spend hours with them. But it is very important to listen to them. – Barbara Bush

Don’t worry that children never listen to you; worry that they are always watching you. – Robert Fulghum

The most valuable gift you can give your child is to listen to the little and big things in his life. Begin early so that the lines of communication will be open during the teenage years. – Kimberly Keith

Just talking to your child is only half the job. You can keep the lines of communication open by knowing how to listen and when to talk. — National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign

Listen earnestly to anything [your children] want to tell you, no matter what. If you don’t listen eagerly to the little stuff when they are little, they won’t tell you the big stuff when they are big, because to them all of it has always been big stuff. But unless they are talking to you, stay out of it. Indiscriminate eavesdropping is a threat to parental sanity. – Catherine M. Wallace

Long before I wrote stories, I listened for stories. Listening for them is something more acute than listening to them. When their elders sit and begin, children are just waiting and hoping for one to come out, like a mouse from its hole. – Eudora Welty

Don’t feel that you must advise or help your child come up with a solution all the time. The value of listening is in the listening itself. – Kimberly Keith

The words that a father speaks to his children in the privacy of home are not heard by the world, but, as in whispering galleries, they are clearly heard at the end, and by posterity. – Jean Paul Ricther

The little child whispered, “God, speak to me.” And a meadowlark sang. But the child did not hear. So the child yelled, “God, speak to me!” And the thunder rolled across the sky. But the child did not listen. The child looked around and said, “God let me see you.” And a star shone brightly. But the child did not notice. And the child shouted, “God show me a miracle!” And a life was born. But the child did not know. So the child cried out in despair, “Touch me God, and let me know you are here!” Whereupon God reached down and touched the child. But the child brushed the butterfly away and walked away unknowingly. Take time to listen. Often times, the things we seek are right underneath our noses. Don’t miss out on your blessing because it isn’t packaged the way that you expect. — Anonymous

Quotations about Public Speaking

As I was preparing for my Spring semester Principles of Public Speaking course at Georgia Southern University, I went through my quotations files to see what I had on the topic. Here are a few of my favorite quotations on public speaking.

• “There are three things to aim at in public speaking: first, to get into your subject, then to get your subject into yourself, and lastly, to get your subject into the heart of your audience” — Alexander Gregg
• “You can speak well if your tongue can deliver the message of your heart.” — John Ford
• “There are only two types of speakers in the world. 1. The nervous and 2. Liars. ” – Mark Twain
• “According to most studies, people’s number one fear is public speaking. Number two is death. Death is number two. Does that sound right? This means to the average person, if you go to a funeral, you’re better off in the casket than doing the eulogy.” — Jerry Seinfeld
• “Courage is not the absence of fear but the ability to carry on with dignity in spite of it.” – Scott Turow
• “Be still when you have nothing to say; when genuine passion moves you, say what you’ve got to say, and say it hot.” – D.H. Lawrence

On Listening & Learning, part deux

My classes are done for the semester at Georgia Southern. My students are deep in their preparation for final exams. Let’s take some more time to remember how much our listening affects our learning.

Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or your self-confidence. — Robert Frost

I like to listen. I have learned a great deal from listening carefully. Most people never listen. — Ernest Hemingway

In order that all men may be taught to speak the truth, it is necessary that all likewise should learn to hear it. — Samuel Johnson

I learned to write by listening to people talk. I still feel that the best of my writing comes from having heard rather than having read. — Gayl Jones

I make progress by having people around me who are smarter than I am and listening to them. And I assume that everyone is smarter about something than I am. — Henry J. Kaiser

I feel like a terribly slow learner in acknowledging that only in recent years have I come to learn that listening is a primary way by which I can become a significant person in my own eyes and in the eyes of others. And I must continually relearn it. — Earl Koile

We should never pretend to know what we don’t know, we should not feel ashamed to ask and learn from people below, and we should listen carefully to the views of the cadres at the lowest levels. Be a pupil before you become a teacher; learn from the cadres at the lower levels before you issue orders. — Mao Tse-Tung

Talk less—you will automatically learn more, hear more, see more—and make fewer blunders. — Mark McCormack

Let the wise listen and add to their learning and let the discerning get guidance. — Proverbs 1:5

A little-recognized value of listening and inquiring relates to the realization that in human relationships, it is frequently not what the I’ve learned … that it is best to give advice in only two circumstances: when it is requested and when it is a life-threatening situation. — Andy Rooney

When you stop learning, stop listening, stop looking and asking questions, always new questions, then it is time to die. — Lillian Smith

When you talk, you repeat what you already know; when you listen, you often learn something. — Jared Sparks

[T]he seeds of [the Argument Culture] can be found our classrooms, where a teacher will introduce an article or an idea . . . setting up debates where people learn not to listen to each other because they’re so busy trying to win the debate. — Deborah Tannen

On Listening & Learning

As we approach final exam time around the country, perhaps it’s time to think about how listening and learning are intertwined. Let’s “hear” from several people:

The most basic of all human needs is the need to understand and be understood. The best way to understand people is to listen to them. — Ralph Nichols

It seems that we shall eventually come to believe that the responsibility for effective oral communication must be equally shared by speakers and listeners. When this transpires, we shall have taken a long stride toward greater economy in learning, accelerated personal growth, and significantly deepened human understanding. — Ralph Nichols

I think I’ll learn more from listening. Anything I would say I already know. — Anonymous student explaining while she did not wish to participate in a discussion, quoted in Christian Science Monitor

A little-recognized value of listening and inquiring relates to the realization that in human relationships, it is frequently not what the facts are, but what people think the facts are, which is truly important. There is benefit in learning what someone else’s concept of the reality of the situation is, no matter how wrong it might be. — Bryan Bell

Education commences at the mother’s knee, and every word spoken within the hearing of little children tends towards the formation of character. — Hosea Ballou

An intelligent person is someone who listens with understanding. — M. Bradley

Oh, listen a lot and talk less. You can’t learn anything when you’re talking. — Bing Crosby

We listen in order to learn and retain information. If we are speaking, we are not listening or learning anything to add to our sum of knowledge. This is why the first step to effective listening is to stop talking! — Ken Fracaro

Stay tuned . . . I’ll post more quotations on listening and learning later this week.