Month: September 2018

The Unification of Ideas

In this time more than any; with social media, a pressure on popularity, and the polarization of political views, it seems that the sharing of ideas focuses more on voicing a lone opinion that cannot deviate from the original idea. The quote by Stephen R. Covey: “Most people don’t listen with the intent to understand;

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The Search for Validation

Everyone wants their viewpoint to be heard. We want recognition, validation, the opportunity to say, “I was right”. Perhaps this is why although we may actually hear what is being said to us, we don’t really take it all in or fully absorb the message.  Stephen R. Covey stated that “Most people don’t listen with

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Listening with Empathy is the Key to Understanding

“Most people don’t listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply” (Stephen R. Covey) The quote is from Stephen Covey’s best-selling book, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, where Habit 5 states, Seek first to understand, then to be understood. While listening is a necessary step towards understanding, the intent

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The talking that ain’t heard, and my frustrations about it

A long ago, I was sitting at a bar with some friends. I had tried to engage in the chatting, but observation became far more interesting. Like a ping-pong ball, I turned my head back and forth, following the conversation that was intending to be a debate. – But you gotta understand that… – But,

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Listening Loudly

We can hear the footfalls of a millipede next to our tent. Six miles to the southwest we also hear the clattering of ceramic plates and the clinking of wine glasses. People are laughing. The atmosphere carries no moisture here, but still brings these voices across the Grand Canyon. My son and I sit absolutely

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Independence: It’s a Personal Process

Toxic wholesomeness. A straight oxymoron that describes the end result of every relationship that is based on complete co-dependency. A contradictory statement which summarizes just how crooked the path of a person whose fulfilment and company lies fully in the hands of another can be. There is nothing wrong with being reliant on somebody or

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The blind and the elephant

Injustice and justice differ from one village to another, from one town to another, by ethical injunctions and from one political sovereignty to another. What may seem as unfair or undeserving treatment in one clime might be the beginning of justice and its outcomes in another clime and vis-à-vis. As injustice is the hypothesis of

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Speaking without listening

If listening was easy we wouldn’t have war, or problems with compromise. It is easy then to understand why in a world with so many voices and opinions, so many cultures and ideals, that there is such difficulty in listening to and responding to what is being said. We are human, are we not? Our

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Home

Standing on a flat cliff in the middle of the night in the fog sounded scary, but it was more…magical. I could see the water below and the moon seemed to cast shadows, pictures of people dancing, and animals bounding towards an unseen bone. The trees stood still, no wind to make them move. The

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Hearing Vs. Listening and How Replying is 2018’s Deepest Obsession

I agree with Mr. Covey, that most people don’t listen to understand, but to reply. However, I would go a bit further to say that if your heart’s intention is merely to reply from the beginning, the activity of listening is not truly present, but the activity of hearing. Hearing is when you have heard

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How to Be Instantly Likable!

Stephen Covey was absolutely correct when he said that “most people don’t listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply”. I agree with this statement because in this digital age, almost everyone has an opinion and wants to be heard… “Listen to me!” “This is what I have to say.”

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Education: The Way Out of Your Mind’s Imprisonment

“He who opens a school door, closes a prison.” – Victor Hugo The pursuit of knowledge through the consistent and broad engagement of one’s mind is a process that is extremely important in today’s world. Education, whether formal or informal, plays a very dynamic role in providing invaluable knowledge and skills necessary in one’s everyday

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The Ache

Never have I resonated with a piece as much as I have with this excerpt and the entirety of Home. In fewer than twenty words, Shire articulates what the masses feel, what the fleeing experience and what those in-charge refuse to admit. Every stanza of Home gives me goose bumps. Just when I think it

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The Mysterious Boat

I love living by the shores, for I can go to the beach anytime I want. Every time I visit the shorelines my mind magically transports to a state of quietude. It was a tiring day at school. I finished my lunch quickly and headed to the beach. “Come back soon, we are going out

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The Unseen Sacrifice Of A Childless Mother

What is sacrifice you ask me. Oh, how I know so well already. Is sacrifice not but giving up desires because life circumstances are not favorable enough? I have put my unborn child on that boat to a place I’ve never been because the land I live on has become my hell. I have loved

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How Martin Luther King Shaped Our Society

Martin Luther King JR. and Rosa Parks both helped change the world because they stood up for freedom and made a big impact on our civil rights. When Martin Luther King JR. said, “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice anywhere” he linked the historic struggle of equality and freedom for African-Americans to the struggles

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Listening from the Heart

Why is it that people don’t really listen to each other?  Oh, they hear one another, but not what’s lying between the lines and under the words, not the emotional content, not the things – unconsciously hidden or not – that the other is saying, not the “where is this coming from?” question we should

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The Fear of Desperation

Desperation is the driving force behind almost every identifiable act of bravery, betrayal, and even the poison that corrupts the best of us. What we wouldn’t do to keep ourselves safe from the ravages of war, to keep our families from the things that creep in the darkness? Or to safeguard the little happiness we’ve

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Love Yourself

Many people’s greatest fear is loneliness. After all, the human species is naturally a social one. Every day, you see friends laughing together, going to parties, and having a fun time. You might also see a couple having a romantic candlelit dinner or going bowling together. But what if something deprives a person from doing

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The Sociomata

Dr. King in Birmingham jail, way back in 1963, said “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of maturity, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly”. If we understood what he truly meant the world will rise up vigorously against

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