I still write sometimes

I have read the gospels plenty of times, but every time something different pops out at me. Luke 8 gives the warning that we can't hide anything from God, and I think it is safe to say that we can't hide anything from those closest to us either. "No one lights a lamp and hides it in a clay jar or puts it under a bed. Instead, they put it on a stand, so that those who come in can see the light.  For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open." 
Scary, but true.
However, the next verse is the one I never saw before: "Therefore consider carefully how you listen." As if I needed any more conviction, my wife and one of my co-workers both told me in the same day this week that I don't listen. And this verse doesn't just say listen. It urges me to examine with a fine-toothed comb how I listen. Jesus said these words, and he doesn't just want me to listen closely. He wants me to thoroughly contemplate and reflect on the way I listen. 
As someone who doesn't listen, I guess I understand why I skipped over that in the past. I don't even know why I don't listen. My mom says my dad doesn't listen because he is too busy thinking about what he is going to say next to have time to listen. My dad says it is because he has significant hearing damage. I don't think what I have to say is all that important, so I can't use my mom's reasoning for my dad. Maybe I just don't care that much about other people's opinions, or that I just assume I am right so there is no need to listen. That's what Kate says. I guess she would know, since I am the biggest non-listening offender toward her. On the other hand, she says she listens too much because she thinks she is always wrong. Seems like the perfect combination to me.