How good are your listening skills? Everybody hears, but I am not talking about that. Listening is something altogether different. I go about my day getting my work done. I hear everyone that talks to me. But many times I don’t listen to them. I am in a hurry and need to accomplish my work in a set schedule. I only have time for so much. I have an allotted time for everything. This many times rules out listening to people. For the most part, when a person speaks to you they are saying more than you are hearing. Some of what they are saying refers to the work at hand. But sometimes they are talking about themselves. For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. If you are too busy with work or preoccupied with something else, you will not hear what they are saying. Most people have resign themselves to knowing that people aren’t listening to them. Still people try to reach other people. This is where the skill of listening comes in. If you have developed a skill, you will hear the most astounding things. We are social beings and need to have interaction with other people. The lack of relating to other people can be maddening. And we always find that people who live alone are strange. If you listen to a person talk, they will tell you their life’s story within minutes of talking to you. It is funny how that works. People want to relate to others and will talk until they find someone who is listening. This is the art of communication. Every animal on this earth communicates with someone. So listen to what is being said around you. And you will find out things that you never knew before. This is the difference between talking and communication.