How Often Do We Listen?

There's a reason why God gave us one mouth and one pair of ears and eyes. In my opinion, it's because He wants us to talk lesser (talking excessively can cause chaos. Just look at what's happening recently. Even the newspaper's getting "noisy"!), and to observe and listen more. (Some may disagree to this) Anyway, I came across this interview with American Idol's Scott MacIntyre recently, when he was one of the top 12 this week, and his answer to one of the questions, reminded me the importance of listening.

Q: How did you feel about Simon criticizing the lyrics of the song you chose?

A: I didn't hear what he was saying at first, and I actually had an answer for that. It was probably good I didn't interrupt him anyways (and how many of us practice this??), because he went on to say something very positive (Thanks to listening. You'll never know what the person might say next!). The lyrics of the Bruce Hornsby song, first of all, they are great lyrics, and Simon needs to get with it. [Laughs.] Bruce Hornsby's amazing, and I love Simon to death, but I chose that song because it's the only song I know that talks about listening. You know, "Listen to the mandolin rain." Listening to people's hearts break, listening to the tears roll. Listening is such a big part of my world, I thought it was the perfect song to start off this whole live venture.

(For more, go to: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1606418/20090305/story.jhtml)

Listening can help lessen miscommunications and misunderstandings, two of the most common cause of many problems.

*Scott's Image is taken from: blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/uponsun/scottmac.jpg*