Listening to the Heart

I’ve started following this great feed called Humans of New York. The photographer takes photos of passing pedestrians and asks them questions. I have always been fascinated by stories, as most people are, and this woman struck me the most thus far.

She said, “I realized that by trying to anticipate their mind, I was ignoring their heart.” How often do we listen with a desire to respond? Our first mistake is thinking we can fix things with our answers instead of our compassion. Most people just want to be heard, and in order to truly hear, we must know how to listen to people express their hearts.  

The heart is a fragile thing, but it contains so much of who we are. I would define the ‘heart’ as the expression of core emotions, hopes, and knowledge. It is the picture of who we are, and we act on it. As we tell each other stories and relay experiences, we insert pieces of ourselves. Depending on the person, we choose how much of ourselves to share. After all, not everyone is privileged to the same version of ourselves. What we choose to share says a lot about our relationships.

When my heart is breaking, I will go to people who will listen and encourage me, and I hope others see me as someone who will do the same. In that, one of the greatest challenges is knowing how to sit in silence. Silence can be heavy and carry all of our doubts into the air, or it can be warm and wrap us in a comforting emptiness.

These past couple of weeks have been full of listening moments. Life has been throwing challenges like skipping stones across my path while my friends have similarly felt the ripples. These are the times to be in constant encouragement and compassion. (Kleenex and chocolates are helpful too.)

As I finish my last week of training and begin traveling next week, my intention is to listen to the hearts of students I meet. My goal is to be the person I wish had been there for me, and that involves a lot of listening on my part. The freedom to express fears, sadness, doubts, excitements, goals, and dreams is invaluable, and I want to give it.

As I listen to others, I pour my heart out to the one who created it. The Lord is at work through any time in my life, and my prayer is that you see it too.