Love cannot be pretended. Nor can the art and skill of listening.
Feeling loved is feeling heard.
To listen is to profoundly love.
If I say, “I love you”, then I am saying I am willing to hear you.
I am willing to hear even the things I would rather you would not say.
If I am truly loved, I will be able to say, appropriately, the things that you would rather not hear.
Anyone willing can be a better listener, and therefore, a better lover.
When someone you love wants to talk, if you have no intention of listening, rather say so as kindly as possible. This, in itself, is an act of love.
You will have overcome a hurdle of good listening which is honesty. There will be…