Though a few firecracker quotes burst though the haze, most of history's voices reach us as murmuring buzz -- a low, indistinguishable din. We know some of the words of a very small number of people; however, what most did or said will forever remain a mystery.
In high school, it seemed that world-changing events were oh-so-simple:
Once upon a time, a group of fed-up people suddenly Opened Their Eyes. They realized that the System was Bad. They coordinated their responses and got rid of the Horrible Thing. Eliminating the Terrible Changed the World!
When we don't hear individual voices, everything can be neatly and simply generalized. Reduced to a mere soundbite.
This holds true for more than historical events.
The people in our lives are driven by motivations we'll never fully understand. They will hoard unshared motivations. They will make decisions we'll never comprehend. What they will share is but a few words. How can we hope to understand if we only listen to their words?
And how many of us spend a lot of our time only half-listening?
We must learn a deeper way of attending to the people in our lives.
I have grown weary of my incessant talking and my insatiable opining.
I'm working on opening my eyes, giving my ears a chance to actually hear.
This holds true for more than historical events.
The people in our lives are driven by motivations we'll never fully understand. They will hoard unshared motivations. They will make decisions we'll never comprehend. What they will share is but a few words. How can we hope to understand if we only listen to their words?
And how many of us spend a lot of our time only half-listening?
We must learn a deeper way of attending to the people in our lives.
I have grown weary of my incessant talking and my insatiable opining.
I'm working on opening my eyes, giving my ears a chance to actually hear.
