ฮ with a little practice, i can find greater freedom from self-obsession ฮด
Posted: Sat, Dec 9, 2006 07:53:19 AM
and closer contact with the people in my life.
more than a little ironic that i am writing this little entry at eight thirty one on a saturday morning, when it way past noon yesterday. i guess life is a little unpredictable for me these days, and that is not necessarily a BAD thing, however, i am way off on a tangent, especially when the reading was about learning how to listen. it speaks to learning how to listen and i speak to how funny life is. well if you ponder that for a second, it does sort of fit -- no matter what the reading was referring to, i still start off on my own agenda, just like the two children referenced in the entry.
so what do i do these days when i find myself slipping off into the abyss of my own self-obsession? well the first trick is to catch myself doing it, not an easy task for this addict. in fact most of the time my first indication that i have slipped off the real world is the puzzled or angry look on the face of my current conversation partner. that not so subtle clue is something i dread seeing, but happens enough that i need to go back to consciously practicing the skill of active listening. i do not know why i did not acquire this skill while i was growing up, nor is it very important to figure out where my skill-set building was defective. no what is important is that i realize that i do lack this skill and make a conscious effort to incorporate this skill into my life. it would be ever so nice if i could just actively listen without having to think about doing so, and perhaps that day will come, and perhaps wild monkeys may fly out of my ass! wishing for something to happen, in my experience has yet to make it happen, so what i need to do, is to continue to consciously practice active listening, admit when i drop out of a conversation and let the process happen as it will. after all i may only be a human addict, but i do have access to the infinite power of the fellowship that gave me this new life!
more than a little ironic that i am writing this little entry at eight thirty one on a saturday morning, when it way past noon yesterday. i guess life is a little unpredictable for me these days, and that is not necessarily a BAD thing, however, i am way off on a tangent, especially when the reading was about learning how to listen. it speaks to learning how to listen and i speak to how funny life is. well if you ponder that for a second, it does sort of fit -- no matter what the reading was referring to, i still start off on my own agenda, just like the two children referenced in the entry.
so what do i do these days when i find myself slipping off into the abyss of my own self-obsession? well the first trick is to catch myself doing it, not an easy task for this addict. in fact most of the time my first indication that i have slipped off the real world is the puzzled or angry look on the face of my current conversation partner. that not so subtle clue is something i dread seeing, but happens enough that i need to go back to consciously practicing the skill of active listening. i do not know why i did not acquire this skill while i was growing up, nor is it very important to figure out where my skill-set building was defective. no what is important is that i realize that i do lack this skill and make a conscious effort to incorporate this skill into my life. it would be ever so nice if i could just actively listen without having to think about doing so, and perhaps that day will come, and perhaps wild monkeys may fly out of my ass! wishing for something to happen, in my experience has yet to make it happen, so what i need to do, is to continue to consciously practice active listening, admit when i drop out of a conversation and let the process happen as it will. after all i may only be a human addict, but i do have access to the infinite power of the fellowship that gave me this new life!
∞ DT ∞