6-24-22
2 minutes, 28 seconds
I like games. Card games, board games, and backyard games all appeal to me. My very favorite is word games. You know, the kind where you scramble letters around to make words (Scrabble), arrange words to make sentences (You’ve Been Sentenced), and craft sentences to persuade fellow game players to “buy” your product (Snake Oil).
I like words. Like Robert Pirosh, a New York copywriter wrote in 1934, “I like words. I like fat buttery words, such as ooze, turpitude, glutinous, toady…. I like sniggly, chuckling words, such as cowlick, gurgle, bubble, and burp.” I’m still waiting for the opportune sentence to use turpitude.
Another favorite word game of mine is Scattergories. This game suits me with its open-ended plethora of options to playfully tumble words into place.
Last week at bible study, we were sharing from our hearts and leaning in to listen to one another about listening. One student of the Word shared that in her workplace they had recently gone through training on “Epic Listening.” Grabbing her pen to take notes, the sweet, sunshiny girl next to her chirped, “Oh! Is that an acronym?” She thought the student next to her meant EPIC as an acronym rather than epic as a definition: impressive, surpassing the ordinary.
As the conversation progressed, I ironically wasn’t listening to the dialog about listening anymore. Instead, I was off in the wonderful weeds of word-tumbling. Smiling and inwardly giggling, I began to turn “epic” into an acronym for listening well.
Eager & Engaged
Patient
Intentional
Compassionate
I re-engaged with our class and, at an appropriate moment shared with delight my discovery of four critical elements of epic listening. My sunshiny new friend grabbed her pen.
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If you ever come to visit me, I will warmly usher you to your room, our guest room. On the wall beside your comfy, pillow-laden bed hangs a favorite picture of mine which has a wonderfully romantic story of acquisition that I will save for another time.
This beloved print is of two women dressed in fanciful, vintage clothing donned with hats that match their outfits and, I imagine, their personalities. Sitting across from one another at a square, ornate table made of cherry wood, they are impervious to anyone else. The glasses before them are half-filled. A plate between them holds one last cookie.
One of the many things I adore about this print is that upon studying the faces of the two women, they both appear to be listening to each other. As an onlooker, you can’t tell who spoke last or whose turn it is to speak, just that their postures and individual, beautiful expressions are that of listening.
Engrossed in their conversation, the lovely lady on the left is tipped forward in her chair; one leg crossed over the other as she engages her friend. Her right elbow resting on the table, she has all but one of her fingers curled delicately against the side of her face. Her pointer finger of that hand is extended and ever so delicately resting near her ear. Her left hand gently twirls the straw in her iced beverage as she gazes softly toward her companion.
The expressive woman across from her is also leaning forward, her right hand dramatically crossed over her body resting near her heart. She seems to either be pouring out her heart to her entrusted friend, or responding with deep compassion to something that’s been shared. Either way, she appears comfortably wrapped in openness and vulnerability, probably reciprocating the manner in which her friend has been communicating with her.
As I study the expressions and postures of these ladies, I wonder what these two women might be talking about. I contemplate this scene in light of my friendships and remind myself to be a gentle and gracious listener as well as a vulnerable and authentic sharer.
In addition to all of the loveliness of this scene is the scripture reference from Proverbs 27:9 written in eloquent script:
“Oil and perfume rejoice the heart; so does the sweetness of a friend’s counsel that comes from the heart.”
The Lord encourages me afresh this morning regarding the art of listening well from the heart as I stand and gaze once again at my beloved guest room picture. I desire to lean in like my ladies, engaged and eager, listening patiently, intentionally, and compassionately: EPIC listening.