“The first duty of love is to listen.” Paul Tillich
Some years ago, a friend listened to me so well that I still feel the ripple effects. We were sitting in my living room. She asked me how I was, and I told her that I was struggling. I talked for a good while, and she hardly said a word. I didn’t have to hurry, because she never interrupted me. Whenever I stopped to collect my thoughts, she waited. When I finished, she said, “I’m so sorry.” There were tears in her eyes. That was all. And here I am, years later, remembering as if it were yesterday.
“True listening, total concentration on the other, is always a manifestation of love.” M. Scott Peck
“[W]ith humility of mind, let each of you regard the other as more important than himself.” Philippians 2:3