By Diane Jordan-Grizzard
Of all the lessons I learned during my years in Liberia, West Africa, the art of listening is the lesson that was most transformative.
In Ohio I was used to the night urban sounds of barking dogs, blaring automobile horns, and sirens. The deafening sound of the 17-year cicada brought fear and dread.
However, on my first night in Liberia, I lay restless listening to a deep, dark quiet that was chilling. It was then that I realized that the urban noise of my familiar was like a strange chorus that had actually lulled me to sleep.
The lesson came the second night as I lay in bed listening into the night at the sound of a mating bullfrog and later a distant drummer. There are sounds in the still of a rural African night just as there are in the bustle of an urban city. I simply had to turn off the expectation of one sound in order to hear the possibility of another.
It wasn’t exactly instantaneous, but I soon understood that when we are in conversation with others, there is often anticipation on the part of the listener about what the speaker’s next word or sentence will be. One of my friends calls this practice ‘already listening’ meaning the listener is already listening for the space to start talking whether or not the speaker is finished.
Listening is an imperative for positive change, and it is an art. I’ve been studying Appreciative Inquiry as a method of exploring and discovering individual and collective strengths and hearing the dreams of possibilities that exist in communities. Just as I had to retune my ear in a foreign land in order to anticipate the possibility of a new and different sound, I am practicing the art of listening deeply (as if into the night) for that profoundly new dream or vision that someone is called to share. Join us in Cincinnati February 17-19, 2012 as we bring together residents and leaders who don’t know each other to create bold new solutions that will bring prosperity and health to our region. Learn more about CoreChange at http://www.corechangecincy.com/. Read more about Appreciative Inquiry and David L. Cooperrider at http://appreciativeinquiry.case.edu/intro/IPOD_draft_8-26-10.pdf.
