Why Bother Listening To Another’s Heart?

I did not set out to become a good listener, but my children trained me to listen carefully to their hearts. Tucking them into bed at night were the most intimate interludes with my sons. After the busyness of an ordinary day and before falling asleep at night, they wanted my undivided attention, even if only for the few minutes it took for them to share what was on their heart.

Sharing and Listening from the Heart

 The routine of tucking my children into bed at night gave them the opportunity to put their pondering from the day into perspective; “How come you can see in your dreams when your eyes are closed?” Voicing their thoughts helped them to make a little more sense of their musings. Even when I could not answer all their questions, they still needed to be asked. 

For some reason, each of them needed an assurance about the next day. What would they be doing and most importantly, what was for breakfast. Other times, they felt the need to tell me things they thought were important for me to know. I remember a particular worry one of my sons shared with me when he was about eight. He told me he was concerned because  he was beginning to like other girls besides me. I alleviated his concern by assuring him I understood and I was not offended. Of course there would be other girls he would like better than me, I explained. “When you are older, you may even like a girl enough to ask her to marry you,” I told him. His face, full of doubt, could not comprehend that event, but he was relieved to know that I was not upset by his honesty. 

Though I am no longer a confidant to my grown sons, they trained me well enough to  become a confidant to others. Because I saw how important it was for me to give my undivided attention to my children for those few moments before bedtime, I see now how important it is to give my undivided attention to another. Even though I cannot answer all their questions, “Do you think I should…” just voicing their concern to someone who will listen, may help them enough to make a good choice. Sometimes, someone might just need a little assurance about surviving one day at a time instead of worrying about their tomorrows. Finally, when we listen to another’s heart we just might hear their need to simply unload a heavy concern. Even if there is nothing we can do for them, we can listen to their heart. 

Why bother listening to another’s heart? It is worth giving a moment to heed to another’s heart since it only takes a moment for a heart to be heard.