Love is a Verb!

Love, at its most meaningful is experienced by others as benign, supportive, caring, respectful, uplifting, life enhancing actions and attitudes. It is not about liking or agreeing, but understanding other perspectives.

Crafty listening might not get the results you hope for or think you deserve, but, whether you stay or go, you can choose to respond with maturity and dignity.

Good listening is rare. Most people listen poorly, if at all, frequently interrupting, going off at tangents or,  because most people (in the West), listen autobiographically.

They always bring the conversation round to their issues or preoccupations, sifting everything through their own beliefs and bias (as we all do at times!), they often have strong emotional reactions to ideas or suggestions that challenge their own models, myths and morality.

Think of discussions or meetings you’ve had, either personal or professional, that have somehow gone from dreary to deadly, or from interesting to insipid. Negative and neutral reactions lead on to accusations and counter attacks, which all too often, and all too painfully, go from boring to belligerent.