Listening Without Discernment
I wrote this in June 2024.
It’s a previous post here on NewsBreak.
It got nine views.
At the time, I thought the lesson was simple: listen better.
Now I know the lesson went further.
Listening isn’t just hearing the words. It’s believing them. It’s taking them in, sitting with them, and discerning what they mean for your life, not trying to rewrite them into something more comfortable.
Back then, I shared a story about James and JoAnn.
James was clear early on. He had been married, divorced, and did not want to marry again. JoAnn, a widow, knew she wanted marriage. Still, they stayed together. Trips. Dates. Companionship. Help around the house. Five years of shared life.
James got exactly what he said he wanted.
JoAnn waited for what she hoped would change.
It didn’t.
Time didn’t change it.
Love didn’t change it.
Effort didn’t change it.
And that’s the part I understand more clearly now.
When someone tells you who they are or what they want, the work isn’t to negotiate it. The work is to decide whether you can live with it. Not later. Not after time passes. Now.
Listening without action is just delayed acceptance.
Discernment means asking yourself: If nothing about this changes, can I still choose this? And if the answer is no, honoring that truth early instead of hoping your patience will rewrite reality.
I wrote this in June 2024.
I hear it differently now.
#QuitasVoice #IntentionalLiving #PersonalGrowth #Discernment #LifeReflections #ListeningAndLearning #EmotionalClarity #HealthyBoundaries #ReflectiveWriting #Storytelling
