Overtime, I've come to realize that listening goes beyond hearing with ur ears , it has a lot to do with the heart. I am in a position to tell you this, I've had the opportunity to talk to people and to hear them out as well, and I can say for a fact that a lot just nod in response, a lot just sit and it seems as if they are concentrated and focused, whereas they are not. Some did hear, it give them few minutes, it's gone.
When we talk about the real listening, we are talking about having someone who can really hear you, who can really understand you beyond the words you utter, who sees you beyond the you talking, someone who can understand you words, reply you the most calming way, not compare you or use your words against/to judge you. And a certain point came in my life that I saw that beyond money and material things, people really need someone who can hear them, someone who listens, someone that won't use their words against them and that became the beginning of something for me.
And what's that thing? In Whatsapp I share some things on my status, sometimes comforting, sometimes thought-provoking, sometimes encouraging and sometimes it's about my own struggles and what I learnt from it. And I can tell you for free that people do pay attention. Aside the people I know, most people who come to my DM are people I don't know, they just claim to have seen my post from their friends status who had reshared it and they asked for my contact.
There are some who talk freely, thy just need someone to listen to them, there are some that's it not so comfortable for, so I make sure to do anonymous stuffs to and they pour out their hearts there. Some talk to me directly, I listen to them, give them my own little piece of advice, encouragement or whatever is best to give and I find out that they don't just listen to me, they make sure to make use of it. Most people do not really need anything grand, they just want someone who can say,"I'm here, talk to me." And there are a lot of people like that in our environment today, all they need is someone who listens, some don't even need you to respond, they just want to talk to someone who can hear them and they will feel less burdened.
I've had a lot of times I'm up late in the night replying to the messages of those I don't even know from anywhere, mind you I've never felt like I'm a hero, and one thing I always tell people is the fact that I'm human too, and I'm a work in progress. In short, I'm not perfect, I face life too, I have issues too, I feel burdened too, I don't have it all sorted out as well. But I'm grateful I can really give out that which a lot of people really need...a listening ear.
I also have people that I talk to, people who listens to me as well. I have people who take their time to read what I write, who are able to pick up one or two from it, who also check-in on me when it seems as if I'm scarce or I've stopped doing what I do. Those ones are the one who remind me that I'm really seen and heard.
It's that easy as it sounds, I've heard a lot of things that even my brain would take it's time to process it, things that are a little hard to one to even believe. There are some who share things that are deep and I still see them laughing as they share it. That made me see that listening requires empathy, patience and that you see beyond, you see the tears in that smile, you see the shattered heart and trust in that smile.
Well, it just seems like I've chosen this path, maybe because the world we are in is one where almost everyone wants to speak and very few are actually listening. Listening brings with it healing, it gives the feeling of, *"you're not alone.
Seasons greetings to y'all ❤️
Images are mine, including screenshots from my WhatsApp status.
Thanks a lot for taking your time to read through, kindly do well to stop by my blog 
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