Listening

Famous quotes containing the word listening:

    What means the fact—which is so common, so universal—that some soul that has lost all hope for itself can inspire in another listening soul an infinite confidence in it, even while it is expressing its despair?
    Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)

    Listening to learn isn’t about giving advice—at least not until asked—but about trying to understand exactly what someone means, how it is that someone looks at and feels about her particular situation.... Listening to learn from a daughter in adolescence, conspiring with her thoughts and feelings, keeps a mother in touch with a daughter’s growing and changing self.
    Elizabeth Debold (20th century)

    The tension to mother the “right” way can leave a peculiar silence within mother daughter relationships—the silence of a mother’s own truth and experience. Within this silence, a daughter’s authentic voice can also fall silent. This is the silence of perfection. This silence of perfection prevents mothers from listening and learning from their daughters.
    Elizabeth Debold (20th century)