Only when we have the courage to cross the road and look in one another's eyes can we see there that we are children of the same God and members of the same human family.
~ from BREAD FOR THE JOURNEY by Henri J.M. Nouwen
Listening has to do with awareness. Hearing is easy; listening is difficult. Few of us recognize that listening is an ability and not an instinct. As such, it is an act that has to be learned. To listen is to be sensitive to reality. Good listeners live in the moment and pay attention to what is going on in the here-and-now ... a listening that is beyond words.