> I've been doing a lot of reading about the art of listening, and what a difficult skill it is. A lot of people don't bother really listening to someone, all they're doing is waiting for a break in the conversation so they can put their own comments in.

This is something that I'm all too often guilty of. Especially with my wife. It's a common problem between husbands and wives...c'mon guys, admit it. How many times are your thoughts *totally* somewhere else while she's talking to you, and you merely sustain the conversation by injecting the occasional "Uh-huh." My wife has caught me doing this more than once.

Communication, or the lack thereof, may very well be the number one cause of broken marriages and relationships. I can vouch from personal experience that the majority of our arguments have resulted from misunderstandings that were directly caused by lack of communication. Good communication is hard work, especially for me, the introvert. I have to think things through before I say them, and my silence is often misperceived as a refusal to communicate. But when I don't think about what I want to say before I say it, I end up phrasing things badly or saying things I don't mean, which tends to worsen a situation.

A truly strong relationship HAS to involve good communication between all parties involved. It doesn't matter what the relationship is...boyfriend and girlfriend, husband and wife, two bosom buddies, or the Christian and his God.

Or (heh heh) Grishny and his fellow Rinkies.

Grishny