This week is less about canswer and more about "answer."
It's that time of year when folks earnestly commit to resolutions for the coming 12 months that they sincerely mean to attain but often fall short of the goal. I have that niggling 11 kilos that I still need to shed (you figure it out). There's the all-important intention to hydrate more (for The Canswer Man yours truly, and all of us). And who among us doesn't need to focus on using our turn signals more often? All of these potential promises aside, I am going to strive to "listen" better.
Taking into consideration: my ongoing/on-growing tinnitus, the murky audio I am wrestling with as a side effect of the perma-stuffy head I seem to be plagued with as of the last few months, and the general dim timbre for a person living on my cocktail of meds - it's no surprise that I don't "hear" as well as I would like. To a degree, those factors are out of my control (so please speak up a little bit, folks). But my ability to "listen" to what people are saying (including making sure I am accurately hearing what is being conveyed) - that level of attention and attentiveness IS within my power. Too often we (and by we I mean I), am admittedly formulating my response while the person is still talking, and perhaps not getting the full content or context of their point. Or it might even be just the inevitable distractions of life (like looking at your phone while someone is talking to you) that pull my brain in a different direction in the midst of the dialogue, and prevent me from truly grasping the complexity or uniqueness of the point/s being made within a 1-on-1 or group discussion.
Whatever the reason or reality, I intend to attend to both foe and friend in order to make my participation in the conversation more valued and my response potentially more venerated (or at least coherent). In the end, this effort may go unnoticed, but it will make me feel better about respecting the exchange, while this renewed concerted effort can only improve the quality or clarity of my portion of the interaction. And if the price of hearing aids should somehow come down to a more reasonable level, or if my healthcare benefits start to cover their cost, I could possibly even "hear" better in 2022 as well. But we'll take it one Miracle-Ear at a time.
Happy 20-22 to you, too!
