The world is becoming a cauldron of loud voices, a copious bastion of opinions, and a plethora of boasting mouth pieces. One of the basic pieces of early development is speech. The valuable art of verbal communication. As we sit at our desks, kitchen tables, doctors’ offices, and dens, we have lost this; we spend this time that was once used to converse to browse social media and various websites. But as we gain more knowledge, we have left the very thing that makes us unique among God’s creations. I have come to the conclusion that the most important aspect of a conversation is listening.

Why is listening important? The ability of being a great listener enhances our ability to form new ideas and valuable insight which in turn becomes powerful petro for success. But we have been pulled into the belief that our focus in communicating is how to project our own beliefs. This approach is misguided and represents missed opportunities. As we turn on our televisions, we see a parade of politicians, a caravan of businessmen, and a cascade of social media personalities that speak over one another. What happened to us? In order to be a good listener, there are 2 things that must occur.

This first aspect of being a good listener is totally gone. I think the late great Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin said it best: RESPECT! When we show respect for others’ points of view, they are more likely to reciprocate. This in turn ushers in the avenues for new ideas and the ability for growth.

The second aspect seems simple, but it’s the most difficult. Talk less and listen more. God is so good in our design. He gave us two ears and one mouth for a reason. He wanted us to listen twice as much as he wanted us to talk!

So let’s do something about our discord. My challenge to everyone is to lower the volume coming out of our mouths and increase our intensity for listening. I guarantee our homes will become sanctuaries of love, our jobs will become pools of innovators, our schools will explode with knowledge seekers, our churches will return to being the pillars in our communities, and most of all: We become better HUMAN BEINGS!

Sincerely yours,

Theron Dawson

Johnson City, Tenn.

formerly of Moultrie