When your partner or anyone close to you is speaking to you,
Whether telling you a story, lodging a complaint, or sharing a feeling,
Give your undivided attention.
Listen with all of you:
With your ears, with your heart, with your skin, with your breath.
Pay attention so completely that everything else disappears.
Listen not only to the words,
But to the mysterious presence from which those words arise.
Listen to the sound of the voice, to the inflections.
Listen to the silence between the words.
Listen to what was not said, but can still be sensed.
In giving absolute attention,
Become the beloved for which the heart has always longed.
Be available in this way for as long as is practical.
Then give love and blessings
And move on with your day.
Whenever you are able to listen,
Listen with all of you.

— Arjuna Ardagh in Leap Before You Look