Cultivate the habit of listening.

If someone has some knowledge, can you obtain it without listening. You probably can if the person is a writer.

We meet so many people in our life time. Some of them possess experiences beyond our reach. How then can we get such knowledge? as I have said, unless the persons are writers, the only way to get such knowledge is to listen carefully, attentively to what the person is willing to divulge.

How much is the person you are listening to, willing to divulge. It all depends upon the interest in the person and his or her talk. Have you noticed how people clamped up the minute the listener's attention is being distracted or turned to another direction? Unless the speaker is one who loves to hear his own voice so much that he is willing to listen to it thrown at nobody in particular, a stop to the flow of information is bound to happen when the listeners are not attentive.

So often have I learned things because I was attentive to complete strangers who happened to cross my path at certain stops in my life.

Recently, for example, I attended a demostration and learned how to make basic soap. Eager to try my hand at making goat's milk soap, I bought all the necessary materials and equipment to find that somehow it did not materialise as it should.

Listening around, I gained further knowledge and eventually succeeded in making the soap. That shows the importance of listening in gathering information.

Therefore, we ought to teach our children to listen. Never tell them that they must listen whenever people speak. People, even children, can rebel against orders. Instead, tell them interesting stories so that they will listen. Then as they grow up.isten to them. That is teaching by example. Listen to their problems and sympathise with them with love. Knowing that their parents do sympathise with them and can probably help them, they will be more willing to reveal more of what is happening to them when the parents are not around. Then, the parents would know if something is wrong and take remedial action to help the child. With such love and understanding, it is certain that the children will listen to the parents.

Later, when you listen to others, when opportunities come, tell your children why you listened to so and so, the amount of knowledge you got from him or her. Do not worry about your child having a lower opinion of you, for it will be the other way round. It would be how great their father or mother is in gathering information. How capable my dad or mum is!

I have overhead my children told their aunts and uncles how great papa is in getting so and so to explain how certain things are done. It wonderful to overhear such things. However, unless you practice this kind of listening, you cannot expect such compliments from your children.

So, let's start listening more to your children and indirectly teaching them to listen to you and those with great experiences. Such people are everywhere and it makes life still full of the unknown and so much more to live for.

You know, I am still listening around for the method of making brown rice venegar. I said listening because I have not been able to read about it in the libraries, books and the internet. So, anyone able to tell me that, I am all ears or eyes, whichever are needed.

So, let's listen around for more knowledge.