Story Listening

I'm not the best listener in the world - I'm too easily distracted. I have to try really hard and am developing techniques to make listening easier. I block everything else out from around me. I move away from distractions. I take notes. I play the alphabet game (good game in a sermon - listen out for words beginning with all the letters of the alphabet). I arrange everything on the table at 90 degrees to the edge of the table (mindless task, distracts my hands and eyes but keeps my ears open). 


I am getting better. Loads better in the last few months as I have had the privilege of listening to so many people with so much to say. I've even managed to listen to Radio 4 and not switch off (that is like a miracle!). Listening is an art form that is so easily lost (and I am a test case!). To listen properly we need to have our full attention on the speaker. 


A couple of blog posts ago I thought about the art of story telling..... that perhaps we don't do enough. I was challenged today that perhaps we don't do enough listening to stories. We can create space to make stories happen, but if we are too absorbed in our own story we miss the stories of other people. We might subconsciously think our story is the only one that matters and then try and fit other stories into our own. 


We can't get to know people unless we make space to listen. When we begin to tell our stories we need to make sure we make space to hear others. 


If we open our ears wide, we can hear God whisper through the stories of the most unexpected people. 


Story Telling? Story listening.....