The Sacred Gift of Being Truly Heard

The following is based on a conversation with Laurel Pritchard on the SoulStream Living from the Heart podcast.

Often we find ourselves surrounded by noise. Many of us live very full lives and have even fuller minds. Sometimes conversations leave us empty. Under all this activity, there is a longing to be known—not fixed, not managed, just heard.

What we want is simple and difficult and rare all at the same time. We want to be listened to in a way that does not hurry us along. We want to express ourselves without having to justify what we’re saying. Sitting with someone who believes our lives, exactly as they are, are worth paying attention to is truly a privilege.

But listening like this is rare. We are trained to respond, to advise, and to fix. Silence during conversations makes us uncomfortable too. We fear that if we stop filling the space, nothing meaningful will happen. Even with ourselves, we rush past what we feel, afraid of what we might find if we stayed open and present to our thoughts, feelings, and desires.

To truly listen is to set aside the need to fix, advise, or respond and instead offer someone your full presence. In spiritual direction, this kind of listening is the work itself. It’s a way of honouring the holy ground of another person’s life. Because it is so rare to be listened to without interruption or agenda, real listening becomes a sacred gift that can quietly transform both the speaker and the listener.

When we listen in this manner, without attempting to guide or solve, we experience a shift. It becomes easier to let go of the urgency to get somewhere or prove ourselves as worthy, and we realize that being heard is healing. We start to feel that something larger than ourselves, not just another person, is holding our lives. Listening becomes our deepest work because presence is love.