Kelly

When I was child (jury is still out as to whether I've grown up mentally or not), I thought that listening and hearing were the same thing. How wrong I was!

I've come to the conclusion that hearing is a physical action while listening is a mental one. We don't listen anymore. We 'hear' what people are saying because we aren't deaf. But 'listening' is a different ar which implies actually acting upon that which we heard.

One person pointed out to me that persons don't listen to your point in order to formulate their response and thus continue a mature conversation. That's what we should do. However, we merely direct our ears to know when the person is finished speaking and then throw in our two cents; completely oblivious to the other person's point of view. Of course, they would be oblivious because they didn't listen to a word!

We've seen it happen in every sector of society. Parents tell their children what to do and what not to do. The good ones listen and heed their parents advice. The not-so-good ones hear every word; they can even repeat it verbatim. But they didn't listen because they made the same mistake anyway. So we say 'dem pickney yah nah hear'. On the contrary, they hear just fine; they're just not listening. The DJs who actually do sensible material might not be getting through because though they know the lyrics, the fans don't get the message.

Giddy-headed females '

Of course, there are times when hearing and not listening can be a good thing. Listening to a marauding band of giddy-headed females when you're actually trying to work can be a pain in the cranium. So it is best to turn off the old brain, tune out completely (as best you can anyway) and hear just enough that you don't totally kill your brain cells with inactivity. And when the silence eventually returns, breathe a sigh of relief and resume your listening pleasure.

Of course, the persons who really need help are those who neither hear nor listen. Husbands busily listening (note the verb) to the cricket game are notorious for asking "what?" and "huh?" when wifey asks after a long speech, "did you hear a word I said?" Politicians arguing at the top of their lungs in Parliament can't possibly be listening to each other, if they can't even hear themselves shout. That leads to plain old confusion and the country's legislation potentially goes nowhere. Well, nowhere substantial anyway.

So, let's get back to the art of listening. Yu hear me!? Lata

Let me hear, I mean, listen to you at daviot.kelly@gleanerjm.com