*openmargin dialogue

We’re all locked inside our own body. Which is a shame of-course. Wouldn’t it be nice to be a spirit, traveling around the world and staying in different bodies? Hearing what they hear, seeing what they see. 

Unfortunately there’s not yet a travel-agency for spirits (if you start one, I’ll be the first customer), but there’s another possibility: listening. By listening to another human being, nature or art, we lose ourselves and experience the other. Our mind becomes wiser and our heart more empathic. 

But listening is not very popular nowadays. ‘Everyone is a producer’ is the promise of the interactive media. And after a century of radio and television, this is a welcome message. But while the speaker is celebrated, the listener is neglected. Passivity and silence seem to be bad things. If you don’t tweet, you don’t exist. 

But what if everyone is speaking and no one is listening? What’s the use then? 

Consider your attention footprint for a moment. Are your speaking and listening in balance? Your reading and writing? If you need to compensate, try one of these:

• Read a text with your full attention. Don’t skip. 
• Ask for clarification. Really try to understand the author’s opinion. 
• Ask an open question. You know, the one where the answer is not build in already.