Am I too busy for my kids? They come in to speak to me and I am frustrated because I am doing something. I am busy. I don’t want to be bothered at the moment. But they matter to me. I want to listen. Some of what they’re saying I don’t understand. Some of it is boring because I don’t understand it.
I made-up my mind earlier this year after I saw no one really listens to my youngest son. This really bothered me. I decided I would stop whatever I was doing and focus and look him in the eyes to see him, to hear what he was saying.
I heard Oprah say we all just want to be seen and be heard. In each of our eyes, we’re saying do you hear me? Do I matter? Do I belong? Am I special? Am I enough? Can you focus on me while I am saying?
The problem is we are so busy waiting to say what we have to say that we miss what the other person was saying. The problem is we treat people like we are checking something off of our checklist and on our To Do List.
These are real people with real feelings who need us to pay attention and give us what we need in that moment which is to be heard.
We want to be loved, accepted, and approved and to know we were heard. That what we had to say at the moment was heard and respected.
Slow down and listen to your spouse, kids and parents. They matter.
