Have you ever thought when dialoging with people, how often we speak but don’t listen with the same enthusiasm? If we are excited about something and anxious to share this information with others, we often expect that they will also become excited. When they don’t, we might become disappointed and even shut down our listening.
This occurs because we all have our own unique points of view, which consists of all of our experiences and beliefs. No two points of view can ever be the same so different reactions to the same information are more than likely to occur. Even when we share similar beliefs, if we stay together long enough we will find the differences.
One way of approaching our lives in to hang on to our points of view with the determination of convincing others that we are “right”. Our point of view is the only one that matters since we hold the truth. This need to be “right” has a crippling effect on relationships and often blocks effective communication with others.
What if we assume that our points of view are based on our own unique experiences and know that all others are different? Would we listen more openly? Would we respond differently?
The beauty of knowing we are each unique and special is that when we share our points of view, we can more readily listen to the points of view of others. We gain insight into who they are. We can take in this new information and sometimes expand our own points of view to hold these new thoughts and beliefs. Just knowing that they exist expands our awareness of life.
The paradox and magic of relating in this way is that when we really take in each others differences, we finally reach the point where we are all the same. This experience comes from our expressions of respect, compassion, gratitude, and love found within our hearts. The one force that unites us all.