But the corollary to these internal conversations appears to be an inability to enjoy the external conversations or events to the fullest. An inability to listen fully to what is being said because my mind is jumping ahead to what my response might be. Or jumping ahead to the next task at hand and figuring how I might most efficiently accomplish it.
But I am coming to believe that jumping ahead does not enlarge my spiritual tent. God is fully present, whether I am present to Him or not. And it's my loss, if I am not. And, if I am to love others as God loves me, being present when they are talking about things that matter to them is a good way to love them. To bless them.
A book called "The Blessing," by Gary Smalley and John Trent, discusses how parents "bless" children, just as the patriarchs of the Bible did. Part of that "blessing" is to listen to your children, to be present and interested when they talk to you (no multi-tasking! Put down the iPhone or BlackBerry!). This presence holds true for others in your life, I would imagine, as well as for your children.
I want to stop and listen, just listen, in a conversation. Not to imagine what the other person might be thinking, or searching for hidden meanings in what he or she is saying (which, I have learned is a form of faulty thinking. Nobody can know what someone else is thinking--unless you are Mr. Spock and using a Vulcan mind meld). Just to be present, to listen, may be the best thing I can do for the people in my life.
Isaiah 55:3--Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.