Do not confuse motion and progress. A rocking horse keeps moving but does not make any progress. ~Alfred A. Montapert
I think this is a problem for a lot of the world. We move a lot, but don't get anywhere. It's kind of like talking a lot, but doing nothing. Talk without action is just that...talk.
Sometimes I talk a lot. Most people don't know that about me because I tend to be on the shy side and I always think (and hope) I am a better writer than speaker anyway! But sometimes, I talk...alot!
Several years ago my former college roommate and I decided to go out fishing after I had worked on a Saturday. We took out the canoe she had and once we hit the water, I began to talk. For the next couple of hours I must have talked nearly non-stop, only pausing occasionally to take a breathe or a drink of pop.
Finally, she said to me, "You didn't talk all day did you?" It wasn't really so much a question as it was a statement.
I realized she was correct, I hadn't talked all day at work. My work as a program director serving a house with men who suffered from mental illness often had me listening all day and saying very little.
Sometimes I think it is more important to listen than it is to talk. Actually, a lot of times it is more important to listen than to talk. When we are talking we focus on us. When we listen we focus on another.
Let's take a moment to listen to others.
Karin
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