Most “listening” is just waiting for your turn with better manners.
You collect enough words to respond, then go back to your own inner broadcast.
The old pattern: hear the surface, miss the signal.
Real listening is tuning.
You turn down your inner commentary and let someone’s tone, pauses, and silences actually land.
You notice their eyes when they say “I’m fine.”
You hear the weight under “It’s whatever.”
Sound is energy, not just content.
When you really listen, your whole system is reading the field: tension, relief, hurt, hope.
People feel that.
They feel less strange. Less crazy. Less alone.
Love, in this frame, is the decision to make room for someone else’s reality before you add your own.