As humans, we all want someone to listen to us. How many of you say something to someone and you don’t get a response, or feel as if the other person wasn’t listening at all? How many of us have someone ask us, “How are you?” and you just say, “good” or “fine” because you feel like the other person won’t listen and doesn’t want to hear about how you actually are?
I’m sure many of you have been there.
Yesterday at work, I was watching Dr. Phil on one of the televisions in the dining room and the particular episode, I’ll admit, brought tears to my eyes. Of course, right after this happens, a woman sits at one of my tables.
I brought her a menu and apologized for the tears and I explained I was watching Dr. Phil and she understood. Next thing I know this woman, about 50 years old, well-dressed, petite, and very pretty started opening up to me about her life– the things that stressed her out, her hardships, and the things that were going well. Turns out this woman has a son who is a drug addict who is unwilling to get help and lives in an apartment in which her landlord stalks and harasses her.
By looking at this woman, you never would have guessed she had problems like this. She dressed very professionally, was very soft-spoken, yet she spoke with an assertive tone. It was clear to me that this woman was a fighter. During her rants on the landlord, she mentioned that she and the guy used to be friends and that when he’s not drinking, she helps him out and is friendly towards him. She also mentioned that she had to distance herself from her son because after years of tearing herself apart and trying to get him to change, she had to realize she’s done all she could and the change he has to make is up to him.
My response to the woman, “That’s the downside of being a genuine person. You care about people, and they take your kindness and don’t reciprocate it. Yet we stay kind and true to ourselves.”
She agreed and said something along the lines of, “But then there’s assholes out there too. I guess the world needs genuine people to balance all of that out.”
It’s funny how much you can learn about people if you just listen. Listening is free and easy. I feel like some people are afraid of listening to others because they think it means they need to solve the other person’s problems. That’s not it at all. The purpose of listening is just that, to listen. It’s showing someone that they are worth a few minutes of your time. All you need to do is stop what you’re doing, and listen.
I realize my posts lately haven’t been nutrition-related. But since I’m passionate about nutrition, I can relate anything to it.
Listening can happen anytime, anywhere. But I feel like one of the best times to listen to someone is over a nourishing meal. Many of us eat mindlessly (yes, I do too, I understand). I personally am guilty of eating over the sink when I’m in a rush to get somewhere. I understand we lead busy lives. But taking the time to sit down and eat and nourish your body with someone else, you can both benefit. Each of you can converse, listen, and laugh while simultaneously nourishing your bodies. Plus, humans are wired to enjoy eating, so why not share the experience with someone?! In addition to that, studies show that eating with someone else force you to eat more slowly, so that your body can take the time it needs to signal your brain when you are full… and this usually leads to eating less 🙂
I apologize for the bland writing style of this post. I worked until 1 am last night and I guess my brain is still kind of asleep, haha.