Sometimes I’m not a good listener. It actually takes effort to tune in and listen. Everyone has strengths in certain areas. And some of my kids are very good at sitting in class and listening to a lecture. My husband loves to read aloud to us. I think he’s a good listener because he had dyslexia when he was young and couldn’t read very well, so his mom read him the classics. He loved that. He learned to tune in.
I have to confess, that it takes more effort for me to listen. He gets a little annoyed when I tell him, “I’ll just read that, I can’t focus while you read.” I pay attention better when I’m reading, but I have learned the value of listening. I think there’s something magical in the word voiced. We need to cultivate our ability to hear.
I remember when the English Gent and professor, Arthur Henry King spoke to us in a fireside. He read the Bible, specifically the story of the prodigal son. I was transfixed. He read it as if he was telling the story the first time and first hand. He said he could hear his father’s voice, because his father read the scriptures to him. He knew where to pause as he read. He didn’t over-act or dramatize it. He read and I listened. I became a believer in reading aloud.
It was more traditional to read aloud in days past. We seldom read aloud today. There is competition with the Internet, streaming movies and music and televised programs. In our family we have tried to take the time to read aloud. I was never a fan of letting my kids cry it out to fall asleep. Seemed so sad to me. My husband and I would take turns reading to our kids at bedtime until they nodded off to sleep. We have gone through stacks of books. I think they have fond memories of us reading to them. They are probably all good listeners, at least better than me.
We have also read scriptures aloud together as a family. And I admit I was better at that when I had more kids at home. Lately, I have been listening to the scriptures on my ipod. I turn them on at odd hours when I can’t sleep or early in the morning when I’m waking. I hear things that I don’t remember ever reading. Sometimes I reach up and pause it, looking at the location of the reading.
I think that’s why we should add listening to our reading. My mind drifts at times, and I fall asleep, but when I pay attention, I hear the words. And hearing and listening are required when we want to learn. The scriptures help us hear the voice of the Lord.
How to become a better listener? Just start practicing; give your kids a chance to read aloud and listen to each other. Turn off the other sounds.
Image: Painting of Arthur Henry King
