You don’t have to say everything you know
Jesus was emphatic when he stated that the prime objective for every one of His followers was to love someone else.
“Finally, the other lady is getting a chance to talk.” Those are the un-tempered words spinning around inside my head. See, I am sitting here at one of my favorite restaurants attempting to enjoy breakfast, but am extraordinarily distracted. I’m being forced to listen to the conversation at the table to my left. The weather is perfect. The view is captivating. The food is exquisite. Unfortunately, my senses are being dominated by a woman sitting at the table next to me on the restaurant’s patio as she engages her “OUTSIDE VOICE.” She is also, obviously terminally ill and has only 45 minutes to live. The reason I am aware of this is she is attempting to dispense everything she knows before her breakfast is over.
Words Used Score: OUTSIDE VOICE lady 1000 words per minute, her guest at the table 0.
I think to myself, “Man, I’m annoyed.” While at the same time I think, “Man, I’m annoyable.”
I’m probably overly sensitive because I also have the proclivity to over-communicate at times, to not listen well to others, and probably have some strange mental condition, demonstrated by my profound testiness over relatively insignificant external stimuli. It makes me irritably aware of my own need to listen more than speak and to ask questions rather than to enter into a monologue (Thank you very much, I’ll be here all week), even if I know all the answers. And I do know a lot of the answers…just ask me.
This all reminds me of the Apostle James words, “Be slow to speak…”
So, Today I Resolve:
- To speak fewer words than whoever I’m with.
- To ask more questions, even if it is to get to an answer that I know already. 🙂
- To believe that who I am with is actually human and is a carrier of a valuable story.
If I, if we can truly listen to those around us we will possibly be providing one of the most loving gestures available.
Now, I’ve gotta go before I go into my “OUTSIDE VOICE” and scream, “For the love of God, let the other person have her turn”