I had an “a-ha” thought listening to a podcast recently. It is a bit embarrassing to admit that I had not thought about such a simple concept before but it is true. The concept? Hearing is distinct from listening and hearing is an innate attribute (you can either hear or not) but listening is a skill that can be both learned and honed. Hearing is a passive activity (again either you can hear or you cannot) but listening is an active process which includes using many parts of your brain function to make meaning and listening is as unique to the person as their fingerprint is. This uniqueness is borne from an individual's knowledge, experience, passions, successes, failures, worldview and values so no matter what people hears the meaning-making that comes from listening will always be different.

I also learned that like your computer with too many tabs open or your iphone with too many apps running in the background both your ears and your brain require a reset - 5 minutes a day of silence. I must admit 5 minutes of silence sounds a bit terrifying to me but might be worth a try.