Simplicity and more communication rants

    Good morning (or afternoon or evening, depending on when you read this)! It is a rainy day today and while I love rainy days, everything in me wants to go back to bed with my tea and my book. Even sitting here to write, I keep catching myself staring out the window instead. I am desperately ready for autumn to be here. All I want to do is wrap myself up in all my sweaters and see the colours. I want to go on country walks feel the cold. Alas, everything is still green and we still have several weeks until the scientific start of autumn so I shall just have to be patient. 

     Last week I talked about reaching out and opening up. Relationships require intentional communication but a part of communication that is often looked over is listening. This one comes more naturally to me, as I am still hopeless at contributing to most conversations. My personality is shy and reserved and though this has been frustrating at times, I'm learning that it's alright. I've learned how to watch and listen because I was never sure of how to talk. That doesn't mean that there's nothing left for me to learn, I am human after all, and I make plenty of mistakes. 

    Listening seems pretty self explanatory. Don't talk when someone else is talking, hear them out, etc. And for all I know, it can be as simple as that and I'm just making things complicated for myself but I do believe there is at least a little more to it than that. You can hear someone without listening to them. Their words are just words. Granted, I can say a lot of nonsense and not everything I say is worth listening to. That's life and that's humanity but when it comes to opinions and perspectives, people are worth listening to. People can be wrong, their beliefs can differ from yours, sometimes you don't understand why they said what they did but that doesn't make those things unimportant. I personally wish that I was better at taking note of people interests and the unique perspectives that they have. People are so incredibly fascinating! We are creative and passionate, we think and feel so much. Unfortunately, I think that in this day and age, we're confronted with so many opinions that we don't really have our own. As Christians, it's hard to be for or against anything without being criticized for it. A lot of beliefs tend to revolve around the individual, we're so sure that we're right and it's not easy to have someone disagree. This is why listening is so important. Everyone has the desire to be heard, to have what they say and believe matter. There are some things that I don't talk about because I feel like no one wants to hear about them. My interests aren't shared so what's the point in talking about them? Whether you agree or not, whether the person you're talking to is right or not, they still deserve a chance to be heard.

    In all my thinking, I've discovered that I actually have a pretty big heart. I still have tendencies to be apathetic and there are still days when I think it would be better to numb than to feel what I'm feeling but I can't help but care. Life is so valuable. We live in a time where it's disregarded and thrown away and my heart breaks for all of it. For me, listening isn't just about communication. You make people your priority and put them first, even for just a little while. It's a gesture of kindness and it restores at least a little bit of that persons worth. By choosing to listen and taking to the time to do so, you make that person feel important. Learn how to respect and trust people for their opinions, even if they're different from yours. Give them space to tell you what they're passionate about and about their dreams. Share your heart with them and make room for them to share theirs. I know how easy it is to take people for granted and I don't want to be pessimistic about it but we really don't know how much time we have. That applies to more than just dying, circumstances and life happen and things change. You can move away or they can, your lives can go in different directions. Nothing is permanent. Be there for people as much as you would want them to be for you. Relationships aren't one sided and I know that can be scary but it's also wonderful and exciting. It's so easy to get caught up in oneself and to feel alone but we really don't have to be. It takes effort and unfortunately it's not as easy or as simple as I often wish it was but it's always worth it. 

    Take time to listen to God too. I don't quite have this one figured out yet but it's just as important, if not more so. Make time for Him and give Him the space to be heard. He's the best listener I know, full of grace and kindness and patience. Give Him that courtesy and watch what He can do.

    I know today's post is a little bit shorter than usual but I'm trying not to muddy my point by adding words that don't need to be there. I'm trying to keep it simple. I hope you enjoyed it all the same and I want to thank you for taking the time to listen to what I have to say. 

Yours truly;

Rey