Listening is a skill, perhaps an art, and one that is poorly honed for most of us. We can let our own impressions, expectations, judgements, experiences and thoughts build a wall between what is being said and what we think is being said.
I'm particularly sensitive to the notion of being unheard. To me it is rude, disrespectful, it eats away little by little at whatever trust I might have with that person. Why trust? Because I can't even trust that person to hear what I'm saying!
Maybe I'm not being clear, but if time after time I'm being cut off, interrupted, my thoughts summarized incorrectly, then it is safe to assume the listener is no longer trying to listen. Of course at the pace our society moves who really has time to sit down and fully listen to another person…? Or do we and we've simply allowed ourselves to get caught up in a pace which requires us to constantly repeat ourselves?
Our horses must feel the same way, telling us repeatedly something which we misinterpret. And of course there are times when we stop listening to our horses altogether. Imagine someone not even *trying* to listen to what you're saying when you're in a relationship; what a frustrating and unrewarding experience!
I'm working on keeping my ears tuned, my thoughts clear so I can fully listen to my horses and really try to understand what they are saying. It's a relationship and I want to keep the dialogue flowing freely.
How are your listening skills?
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