In preparing our self and our emotions for genuine listening we stare down a monstrous barrier. We face the reality of our own ego. It is in all of us. Our culture precipitates increasing lust for material things. The attacks on our vulnerabilities churn out profit for the most convincing. Caught up in this environment we struggle to view others as equals. We have been programmed to show how much the better we are than our neighbor. We can defeat this notion, however, and restore mutual respect in our time.
Although we are aware of our vulnerabilities, it is a formidable task to master them. It is helpful if we from time to time explore procedures designed to fight off these attacks. In order to achieve mutual respect we know we must learn to listen and understand others. When those around us feel heard, feel considered, feel relevant, then they feel respected. We need not agree with everything our acquaintances offer. This is not the goal. We set out on our leadership journey to create benefit for society. To create this mutual benefit, genuine mutual respect must precede. For without mutual respect, we find our selves blindly and ignorantly arguing with one another, becoming more separated, more detached, and less of a person.
Let us then venture to say that we may earn respect by listening to others speak about their ideas and desires. We show interest and interest shall be returned. We seek to discover and discovery shall be returned. It has been said that we become a real person by seeing the world through others' eyes, by making others' joys and sorrows our own. It is imperative that we consider the meaning of the prior statement. Without experiencing the world with others and through others then we find our self completely and utterly alone. Without fellowship are we really human? If we are our own island, continually interpreting others' feelings through our own perspective, are we really capable of love? We should then set forth to play down our own abilities to encourage our acquaintances to offer us their uniqueness.
Who among us should like to discuss our opinions with superiors? If someone establishes himself or herself to have superior education, superior upbringing, superior circumstances, superior brainpower, superior family, superior faith, superior wealth, then where do we stand among them? We are made to feel less worthy. We are made to feel as if our opinions and thoughts have no matter. Why would such superior men and women need to listen to us? To boast then is to divide. To offer credentials is to demean. To proclaim triumph is to mute. Why accidentally risk alienating others? As leaders we seek to encourage, to promote, and to inspire. We are created for communion with others. If we dare to seek out the uniqueness, the wisdom, the past, the skills, the experiences, of others we may indeed find our own self amazed at what we might learn from one another.
Copyright © Robert Clinton Chedester 2013
Although we are aware of our vulnerabilities, it is a formidable task to master them. It is helpful if we from time to time explore procedures designed to fight off these attacks. In order to achieve mutual respect we know we must learn to listen and understand others. When those around us feel heard, feel considered, feel relevant, then they feel respected. We need not agree with everything our acquaintances offer. This is not the goal. We set out on our leadership journey to create benefit for society. To create this mutual benefit, genuine mutual respect must precede. For without mutual respect, we find our selves blindly and ignorantly arguing with one another, becoming more separated, more detached, and less of a person.
Let us then venture to say that we may earn respect by listening to others speak about their ideas and desires. We show interest and interest shall be returned. We seek to discover and discovery shall be returned. It has been said that we become a real person by seeing the world through others' eyes, by making others' joys and sorrows our own. It is imperative that we consider the meaning of the prior statement. Without experiencing the world with others and through others then we find our self completely and utterly alone. Without fellowship are we really human? If we are our own island, continually interpreting others' feelings through our own perspective, are we really capable of love? We should then set forth to play down our own abilities to encourage our acquaintances to offer us their uniqueness.
Who among us should like to discuss our opinions with superiors? If someone establishes himself or herself to have superior education, superior upbringing, superior circumstances, superior brainpower, superior family, superior faith, superior wealth, then where do we stand among them? We are made to feel less worthy. We are made to feel as if our opinions and thoughts have no matter. Why would such superior men and women need to listen to us? To boast then is to divide. To offer credentials is to demean. To proclaim triumph is to mute. Why accidentally risk alienating others? As leaders we seek to encourage, to promote, and to inspire. We are created for communion with others. If we dare to seek out the uniqueness, the wisdom, the past, the skills, the experiences, of others we may indeed find our own self amazed at what we might learn from one another.
Copyright © Robert Clinton Chedester 2013