Learning to Listen

I’ve heard it said that no one is really good at multitasking, but I’m sure that some people are better than others. I have a tough time carrying on a conversation while filling cups with ice, so I’m pretty sure that makes me an especially bad multitasker. 

When I’m at the very beginning of a painting I have to focus all my attention on it. I can’t listen to music or an audiobook, and I definitely can’t carry on a conversation. But once I get past that stage—once I’ve made all the big decisions—the rest is just execution. Hours and hours of execution. That’s when I turn on an audiobook or a podcast, or I talk to a friend on the phone. To be exact though, I don’t really talk on the phone while painting, it’s more that I listen on the phone while painting, because in order to talk coherently I’d have to put my brush down. 

I don’t think I was a particularly great listener before I started painting. I’ve always loved stories and loved it when friends share about their lives. But I used to think that, in order to get to know someone well, I had to talk a lot and be entertaining. Turns out, that’s not true. 

Since I can’t talk much while painting, I had to find another way to keep up with friends. I learned that if I ask questions I get to enjoy hearing all about what’s going on in a friend’s life. So that’s what l do. I ask questions and look for threads of stories as I listen. And when I find a thread, I ask another question and keep going like that, following the threads as far as I can. I love hearing the story unfold. What a wonderful way to spend a day!

I’ve learned to love listening so much! Largely because of painting. 

You know that part in Alice in Wonderland where Alice grows too big while she’s in the white rabbit’s house? I think that’s how life gets if you don’t step outside your own story often enough through listening. All you can see is what’s directly around you—your own joys and your own pain. It can feel like there’s not enough room for anything else. But that’s just an illusion. There’s room if you look up and out. And if you listen. We need each other’s stories to help us remember that we are small and God is big, and that our story is part of a much bigger, more beautiful book that's being written. That perspective changes everything. 

When I’m having a hard time, it helps to talk about it. But it equally helps to listen to someone else talk about something entirely different. Something in their life. Listening well is like stepping into another world. Such a gift!

Blessings to you this week as you look up and out, and as you listen!

~Amy