What comes to mind when you hear the word ‘listen’? Ask yourself, what even is the purpose of listening? In definition, listening is to pay attention in order to hear something. Elders say there is more to gain in listening. A young married couple thought they knew everything and did not care about listening.
It was the Smiths’ fifth anniversary. They were a beautiful couple who loved each other very much, but they were very stubborn and full of pride. They were adventurous too, so they decided they would spend their day at one of the highest hills in Durban. Mr Smith was unsure of this because there were stories about this hill; it was considered extremely dangerous. But his wife convinced him that nothing would happen and they were just rumours.
The moment they told their relatives about the trip, everyone was shocked and did not believe what they were hearing.
“You should not go there because I do not want something bad to happen to you,” their mother pleaded.
“You don’t want us to have fun! You want our marriage to be as boring as yours, huh?” the wife shouted. This started causing conflicts in the family and worse, the couple stormed out leaving the situation like that.
They arrived at the hill, excited, and set out their goodies. It was fun until they heard a voice saying, “I am warning you, leave! That place needs to be at peace.” The couple searched for the voice and realised it was just an old man.
The husband panicked and wanted to leave, but his wife said, “You want to ruin our special day because of some useless old man? You have to be kidding me!” Soon after, the hill started shaking like there was an earthquake! It was destroyed.
The next afternoon, the wife woke up in a hospital bed, demanding to see her husband.
“Unfortunately, your husband did not make it, it is a miracle that you survived,” the doctors said. She felt like her life was shattered; it was lost with no direction. She blamed herself for her husband’s death. It was tough and painful but she learnt her lesson that there is power and knowledge in listening.
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