Finding the ability to listen

In The Art of Listening, an article that ran in The New York Times Sunday Review, Henning Mankell recounts the reason why he first travelled to Africa, and subsequently, why he stayed.

“The simplest way to explain what I’ve learned from my life in Africa is through a parable about why human beings have two ears but only one tongue. Why is this? Probably so that we have to listen twice as much as we speak.”

“In Africa listening is a guiding principle. It’s a principle that’s been lost in the constant chatter of the Western world, where no one seems to have the time or even the desire to listen to anyone else. […] It’s as if we have completely lost the ability to listen. We talk and talk, and we end up frightened by silence, the refuge of those who are at a loss for an answer.”

To read the entire piece, click here.

For information about mindful listening, read the following stories on Mindful.org.

12/12/11