QUOTES
We,
as citizens or members of people's organisations, can preserve and nourish basic
principles needed for long-term efforts aimed at transforming a totalitarian and
war-torn society into a democratic one."
The
humility and humanity of listening, with its magnificent potential for peacebuilding,
is based on the listener's attitude that the speakers know what they feel and
need, and that they are able to express this. It shows respect for people's needs.
Listening is an exchange in which I give you my time and undivided attention in
a nonjudgmental way; I ask questions that are not important to me, but to you--questions
that will help you express your repressed feelings, reexplore your views and search
for your own solutions. Instead of solutions, advice or pity, I give you acceptance,
trust and support. Listening is a joint journey in which one learns to better
understand one's own situation; it is a way to let a part of the pain, shame,
fear and anger go; it is focusing on the future and empowerment for action.
