Listening
When I came to AA 17 years ago many things amazed me. It was difficult not to be overwhelmed. One thing that stands out is listening, with the help of my sponsor and other AA friends this alcoholic learned after 47 years on this earth, to listen!
Listening is my ability to have a conversation with someone or be in a group and hear, consume, and understand what everyone is saying.
I am not saying that my listening abilities became finely tuned overnight but that my awareness of my lack of listening skills was brought to my attention as something to be worked on. One very bad habit was being so concerned what I was going to say (the great I AM!!) at a discussion meeting, that what others said went in one ear and out the other. Working on this character defect helped immensely, and it shocked me what could be learned by paying attention. My sponsor had me sit in the front row at Speaker Meetings so my mind would not be distracted, and I would listen to everything that was said.
In my home, my husband quite often is heard to say: ‘I told you that yesterday, weren’t you listening?” and I do admit that if I’m reading or at the computer and he tells me something, quite often it goes over my head – not even in one ear and out the other! Still working on that, and as we both are senior citizens, memory loss does come into play at times. But if I cannot give my life partner my undivided attention (he is not that demanding!), then I need to make an amends and work harder at truly listening.
So ladies, this week I’d love to hear your experiences with listening or whatever you feel you need and want to share!