Hey friends, welcome to your Daily Mindfulness. Question. When was the last time you felt truly seen and heard by someone? Can you remember what that felt like? Perhaps you can remember a feeling of really being cared about, um, maybe you felt relaxed, calm, and open. So just take a moment to really remember that experience. You know, when someone gives us their undivided attention, the message that it sends is I'm here for you, I'm listening, I care.

But that kind of attentiveness is becoming quite rare these days. And so when listening to another person, we're often there in body or we're not fully present. You know really often, we're actually not truly listening to them at all. We're caught up in our own mind chatter, and maybe we're judging what they're saying, mentally agreeing or disagreeing, thinking about what we want to say next. Sometimes we even interrupt or become impatient, or we just insert our own opinions instead of really listening.

And the people that we do this with the most, of course, are the people who are closest to us. So one of the most simple and powerful mindfulness practices that I know of is mindful listening. We human beings, we're social creatures. We're always talking to each other. We're always communicating.

And so we have a lot of opportunities to practice this. So here's my invitation for today. The next time you're with a loved one or a coworker, try using that time as an exercise in mindful listening. Simply see if you can give them your undivided attention, really listen to what they're saying. Try to fully understand them, give them a space to be seen and heard.

And just like in meditation practice, if you find your mind wandering off, judging what they're saying, that's not a problem. Just gently bring your focus back to the listening, just like you would in meditation. And you're going to notice that people really appreciate it deeply when you listen to them. And you'll also find as a bonus that when it's your turn to speak, it's much more likely that they'll listen to you in the same way and kind of pick up on the vibe. The greatest gift that you can give the people in your life is your attention.

And in a world where there's so much disconnection and distraction, mindful listening gives us back the possibility of genuine connection, authenticity and love in our lives.