Thursday Thought-Listening as Spiritual Hospitality

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Thursday Thought-Listening as Spiritual Hospitality

So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.
— 1 Corinthians 10:31

October 26, 2023 Aric Van Voorst
A rusted metal sculpture with the word "Listen" cut out, set against a bright blue sky and bare tree branches in the background.

Listening is much more than allowing another to talk while waiting for a chance to respond. Listening is paying full attention to others and welcoming them into our very beings. The beauty of listening is that those who are listened to start feeling accepted, start taking our words more seriously and discovering their true selves.

To listen is very hard, because it asks of us so much interior stability that we no longer need to prove ourselves by speeches, arguments, statements or declarations. True listeners no longer have an inner need to make their presence known. They are free to receive, welcome, to accept.

Listening is a form of spiritual hospitality by which you invite strangers to become friends, to get to know their inner selves more fully, and even to dare to be silent with you.

~Henry Nouwen

Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash

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