In fairness to myself, I think most of us have had issues listening at some point in our lives, for completely understandable reasons (which I'll get into in a little bit). Some have thankfully gotten better at it, but there are others for whom listening is not something that comes naturally - or even with some gentle (or not so gentle) coaching.

Though I'm still not the best listener, I've made some improvements over the years, starting with a friend I listened to in college who got me to thinking more deeply and analytically about my beliefs on the issues and who was instrumental in my turn to "the dark side" (conservativism!) though that wasn't what my friend was trying to do.

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News and current events junkies love to read, they love to talk and share their opinions on the hot topics of the day, and that's great. Obviously, that's what we do here, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

But not only is there an art to communicating effectively, but there's an art to listening as well, and I think it starts with an acknowledgement that, shocker, we don't know it all. There are different perspectives (and not just as it relates to politics) that, though we might not agree with the other person 100 percent or even 10 percent, are still worth hearing out if for no other reason than to understand the other person's viewpoint so we can fine-tune our own to make better arguments going forward.

For example, this is exactly what happened to me on the abortion issue. I used to be a leftist and strongly pro-abortion. I made some pretty absurd and, frankly, callous arguments when I was young and stupid in support of my position - arguments that far-left "feminists" still use today. I was "steeped in" on all the modern slogans that were being used, and no one could tell me differently because I knew it all.

But over time and after careful consideration, after eventually being willing to listen and learn different things, my viewpoint changed to the morally correct stance on unborn life, and I've never looked back on changing, never regretted it.

But while I used to feel so much guilt for being a proponent of abortion, something I was told years later after I had "converted" made me feel so much better, so much more empowered.

Because I had been so staunchly pro-abortion, I knew all the arguments, and I knew exactly how to counter them whenever I heard them once I started my pro-life journey. The experiences, as painful as they are to look back on, ultimately helped me to be what I feel is a pretty well-versed messenger on the topic.

I knew all of the pro-abortion arguments from listening to them. I understood the pro-life arguments from listening to them. And at the end of the day, I chose the pro-life side.

There is so much value in simply listening to someone else, especially when they are talking about their life experiences and how they've been shaped by them, and we rob ourselves of the joy in listening to and learning from others when we do what seems to come naturally to a lot of people: dominating the conversation.

That's not a criticism, either - many times in my life I have, without really realizing it, dominated the conversation mainly to try and help keep it going because I didn't like silence and because I didn't want the conversation to end. It was just human nature for me to keep blathering on long after the person on the receiving end probably had already tuned me out. ;)

READ MORE (VIP): Learning to Appreciate 'the Quiet'

It's a good thing to get yourself into a "listening" mindset - not merely to "hear" someone, but to actually listen to what they have to say, whether it's a family member, friend, work colleague, neighbor, random folks you see while out and about, etc. 

Whether it's an argument that persuades you is immaterial; it will enrich you in some way, regardless, whether by way of making you smarter, wiser, and/or more knowledgeable about the subject matter under discussion and what you should say and maybe shouldn't say going forward in future conversations on the topic.

And by the way, Dad, if you so happen to be reading this up in heaven, I have an update for you: 

All those times you thought I wasn't listening to you and Mom, I really was. Your words of wisdom got through. Thank you both for helping shape me into who I am. Love and miss you so very much. -- Stace.