The Art of Listening

Every senior should consider cultivating the gentle art of listening. In other words, we need not go back to school but we should learn how to listen better. We seniors aren't always the best listeners although we have listened a lot, maybe too much, in our lifetime.

Being practical rather than theoretical, we ought to listen more carefully to commercials. Seniors are known for soaking up gobs of cleverly nuanced propaganda and all too often rush off to tell their physician about the newest (as if he/she hadn't heard) medicines guaranteed to cure their ills. Newspapers and magazines perhaps are safer entities because they can easily safeguard their pitch with small (and I mean tiny) print, often running to two or three pages. And who reads that? Or, how many seniors can read that?

Now that we have alienated legitimate concerns, we'll move on. Movie and book critics are quite adept at promotion as well. We've talked about this before but it's worth repeating. Critics can make or break a movie or book, a recipe or sermon, or a vehicle. We seniors ought to know this but we ignore the facts often enough to get into trouble. Critics probably aren't critics unless they criticize (warn) and sometimes we are misled because we fail to listen carefully enough.

Then, there's gossip. There are many listening posts of every description lurking on most corners waiting for an audience. Hearsay is rather common at these posts and we should take heed lest we fail to listen with our mind as well as our heart. At times giving the benefit of a doubt should be exercised more frequently.

This crossed my desk recently which illustrates the point. It has elements of truth and humor combined which can be intriguing as well as confusing:

Avoid riding in automobiles because they are responsible for 20% of all fatal accidents.

Do not stay at home because 17% of all accidents occur in the home.

Do not walk on streets or sidewalks because 14% of all accidents occur to pedestrians.

Avoid traveling by air, rail or water because 16% of all accidents involve these forms of transportation.

As you look at this, these statistics, if true, can be misleading. Falls, travel, even walking can be dangerous. However, riding in automobiles above refers to fatal accidents (20%). But 17% of accidents in the home and 14% of pedestrian accidents are not all fatal. Paying close attention is vital.

Our senior moment is the dilemma that occurs not only when we need hearing aids, but also when we need to sharpen our listening skills: at home, on the job, with our grandkids, in church, in front of the TV, at a political rally or when playing poker or scrabble. How? Listen carefully, critically and with empathy. Easy? No. But highly rewarding. One of the best senior moments is when we listened, heard what was actually said, and responded appropriately. This takes more than a hearing aid; it takes concentration, consideration and if necessary, conciliation (the act of gaining favor or affection). Are you listening?