July 7, 2022
Our Weekly Meditation
Are we listening?
An article from Aeon (magazine) by M.M. Owen, called the “The Art of Listening”, caught my eye.
“To listen well is not only a kindness to others but also, as the psychologist Carl Rogers made clear, a gift to ourselves.”
Writing in Esquire Magazine in 1935, Ernest Hemingway offered this advice to young writers; ‘When people talk, listen completely… Most people never listen.’
We recently returned from a trip out west with our granddaughter. Showing her part of the vast west which she had never seen. We were sitting looking out at the La Sal mountains in Moab, Utah. Just sitting soaking in the beauty and silence, and wondering at how God made so many beautiful mountains and listening to our granddaughter’s hopes and concerns for the future.
Were we listening completely? I hope so.
I hope we all learn to be better listeners to God during our quiet, reflective time, and to be more present in our time with each other.
If another member of the church sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. If the member listens to you, you have regained that one. Mathew 18:15
Thankfully,
Palmer Marrin