When someone asks you a question (about the faith, or about anything that matters) there are at least 5 things to attend to:
1. Their lips.
2. Their head.
3. Their heart.
4. Their eyes.
5. Their feet.
1. Their lips.
2. Their head.
3. Their heart.
4. Their eyes.
5. Their feet.
1. Their lips. What they say: and why they use *those* words?
2. Their head. The real question(s) (which they’re possibly failing to articulate, or don’t even know they have.)
3. Their heart. The emotional weight behind the words and their history with the subject.
2. Their head. The real question(s) (which they’re possibly failing to articulate, or don’t even know they have.)
3. Their heart. The emotional weight behind the words and their history with the subject.
4. Their eyes. What’s their goal, their concept of the good? What are they oriented towards as they address the subject?
5. Their feet. What are they standing on? What are their foundations, the assumptions they’re taking for granted in asking such questions.
5. Their feet. What are they standing on? What are their foundations, the assumptions they’re taking for granted in asking such questions.
Most of the time we fail entirely at 2-5. Even with 1 we don’t attend to their actual words — we only hear a broad concern which triggers a near-automated response. We may as well be chatbots set loose. What would it be like to really listen? To really attend to the whole person?
