Attention to the path of mindful listening
Print Edition
We live in a world that is increasingly becoming a distraction. Many new gadgets are being invented, but our short time in life is not enough to satisfy our thirst for information. Although some of these technological developments are practical, they are all undermining a very important life skill to have, the power of listening. This power is one that we are losing in a world of digital distraction and information overload. One Forbes article has even said that listening is the most powerful leadership skill, something that is hard to come by and hard to maintain. Even though we are still in high school and do not need to be business executives with good communication skills, active listening is something that can improve lives if practiced well.
The first thing we must consider is that there is a thin line between simply “hearing” and complex “listening.” This line is attention. This attention is what we pay to certain things over others, such as listening to a popular new song rather than your math teacher’s lesson. Already you can see that disregarding the important things can be devastating, such as a drop in academic performance. Thus, it is important to use your “volume control” — paying attention to what you are listening to and lowering the volume on insignificant pieces of your life yet increasing the volume on important parts. Sincerely, the “richness of life lies in the timbres and variations you can hear if you simply pay attention.”
Too often, we are worshipping the “false god of multitasking,” another hindrance to mindful listening. Due to constant information overload, academic obligations, extra-curricular obligations, personal obligations, we lose track of time and are unable to discern right from wrong, important from meaningless, etc. Not having proper control of one’s mind, ears, and mouth may be the triggers that could cause one’s downfall from superb academic performance to barely scraping the edges. When it comes to distractions, we are our worst enemy.
I would like to end by encouraging everyone who would like to embark on the path to mindful listening to take a few moments each day to reflect on your listening.
Think about what is keeping you from being an active listener and what you can do to change that. Reflect on a time when you experienced mindful listening, or when you yourself had trouble listening. If you decide to take action on your power of listening, take some time to see how your life has improved after making some changes in how you listen. What you observe may never be what you expected.
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