My 200-word blog posts are
back for 2020!
A few weeks ago, I read a feature article on Alan Alda in The Washington Post that
was inspirational. Here are two of Alda’s comments that got me thinking:
“I
have this radical idea that I’m not really listening unless I’m willing to be
changed by you.” I’ve been teaching people active listening skills for years,
and this quote made me wonder when the last time I truly listened was. Yes, I
can reflect back the essence of what you’ve said so that you feel seen and
heard; but have I listened so that you can influence me, so that I can grow
from your wisdom, so that your words change the world? I’ll have Alda to thank
if I’m able to do that level of listening.
On
the existentialists he’d studied in college: “They said the meaning of life is
the meaning you give to it.” How
freeing! Rather than searching for meaning, you need only realize what is
meaningful to you. And what an empty existence if you don’t do something
meaningful – in my case, helping where I can. Without that helping then, there
would be no life.
So
much to unpack in these tidbits. What’s their impact on you?
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