Listen

I am learning to Listen. Not ‘active listening’ or ‘being present’ or any particular method of listening but simple, naïve listening. People need to be heard. So I listen. When I do it right, I don’t fix problems or give advice. I just Listen. My friend – and Listening Mentor – is Jack, a Listener at the 2100 Men’s Shelter. He wrote in a letter:

“How can a guy … who has not experienced love learn to be a loving person? In Cleveland there are thousands of guys like this. But they do respond to love and then they love others. This is a simple observation it has taken me 81 years to learn!!!!! ….. Here’s a discovery I am making after 10 or so years as a listener at the 2100 Shelter…. When I just listen — give them a smile — seek to live in the moment asking the Holy Spirit what to do next — no planning — something wonderful happens.”

Go in peace to love and serve the Lord!

Josh