Listening

I sat on the porch with our L. daughter. It had been a good eight months since I'd last seen her but we slid easily in conversation. I heard about the struggles of being the main financial support for a broad and extended family. In a culture where you don't say no to family, what do you do when you have older nieces and nephews staying with you to complete their high school and the promised support for a food allowance and electricity just doesn't come? So we talked about some creative ideas to generate extra income. I heard about the translation work she and her husband are working on. A bit bogged down, she said.

After spending the afternoon with my L. daughter I went to dinner with a young couple who were responsible for the bakery and cafe where I volunteered last summer. Again it was great to sit and hear how things were progressing It was good to catch up on a team I'd been involved with for a short time and hear about their growth in leadership. It was fun to hear about future dreams and to encourage them not to give up on those dreams in the face of some large obstacles.

Next I moved to the south of L. and stayed for a week. My primary purpose was to help set up a new accounting package for a struggling agricultural company. This too required listening: "What information do you want a report to give you?" I asked. "Will the program give you that information?" In the midst of the discussion I went to their pig and fish farm to see their operations. There I spent my time listening to how things were going, how tasks were being done. I was able to share some ideas for some small changes to be made so that productivity in the fish department might be increased.

Listening. How often do we forget to do this because we are so intent on providing solutions? How often is the solution right at hand within the grasp of those to whom we are talking? Far too often we fail to take the time to listen well. Sometimes just allowing a friend to voice needs, successes, and challenges is enough to realize a solution right at hand.