Finding the truth...

I haven't been listening.

I've been speaking, talking, preaching, and taking a stance for seven years. Someone once told me you should act proportionally: two ears, one mouth.
Of course it's advice I haven't taken.
I have friends that I listen to. Some of them give me no choice, but there are still others out there that I listen to. I take the time to ask them how they are doing... and I care about what they have to say. For years that was how I made friends and for the longest time I had more friends than I could count. For some reason though I stopped listening to the important people in my life. I stopped listening to the woman I love.

I think I know how it started...
I started defending myself. I started waiting for my turn to speak instead of listening to what was being said. I started arguing my case instead of trying to understand its cause. Today, I was told by someone I admire, that each argument is chance to learn something about a person that you didn't know. I think repeat arguments are caused by not learning those lessons. It's time I learned.