being quiet

Being quiet I believe is underrated. Everyone likes to share their opinion or something of their life, and to some extent that's good and fine, and we can see it played out with all of our blogs.

I recently heard that someone who has shared plenty of words (a Christian, whose name now escapes me) said that they listen 80% of the time, seeking to really understand, and then they speak accordingly. This reminds me of Dietrich Bonhoeffer's words of warning, telling us that we'd better learn to listen to others, or we'll find that we are not listening to God, no matter what we may be doing (reading or talking about God's word, etc.).

I am a talker by nature. But I find much more satisfaction in saying less. Listening more. And hopefully wasting less words. Of course there is a time to speak. Sometimes needed to break the silence, or even break the ice. But I'm finding that I want to be quick to listen, and seek to really understand others. And I'm also working on not waiting until someone is finished so I can say what I've already planned to say. Better to hear them out, think, and then perhaps offer some words that might be helpful to them or for the conversation.

Good too, surely, to be quiet before God. To pray, yes. But also to just be quiet, and seek to listen and hear God's voice speaking into and through our lives.

What would you like to add on being quiet?