Great post, Deborah!  I have found, sometimes through painful experience, that all of my best insights into the world and people around me have come only through listening, and pondering what I have heard.  It is as though I turn off my receptors when I am talking.  It's even worse in a tense situation, because I often find myself thinking of the next thing to say while someone else is talking (receptors also turned off!).  We all need to listen more and speak less, and when we listen, we should do so deeply, because often what others are saying may not be what they truly mean or feel.  It's simple and complicated at the same time!