Listening Well

listening is an act of heart
hearing stories is a healing act
may you share your life

"It is the province of knowledge to speak And it is the privilege of wisdom to listen." - Oliver Wendell Holmes

If you listen to NPR(National Public Radio), you have probably heard of StoryCorps - "Our mission is to honor and celebrate one another’s lives through listening." I love the whole idea, and love their byline - Help StoryCorps create a nation of listeners. I do wish I asked more questions of my family and gleaned more family history.
Most of us have played some version of the game telephone when we were young. A word or sentence is whispered round the circle and, usually, comes back mangled and a faint shadow or untelligible from the original words. As kids, it's comical.
Now as an adult the lack of communication can be astounding at times. It seems that it is hard for us to slow down and listen with focus. Just the simple act of answering phone, "This is Lynn" is met with response like, Hello, Susan, Hello, Ren, Hello, Randy, Hello, Lance. It is mystifying sometimes. Then I think of my own self-involvement, and the mind  (ok, and my mouth) chatter on while listening quietly would be the inappropriate and kind thing to do.

November, 27, 2009 is the National Day of Listening sponsored by StoryCorps. From their site:

Make a yearly tradition of listening to and preserving a loved one’s story. The stories you collect will become treasured keepsakes that grow more valuable with each passing generation.

"The opposite of talking is not listening. The opposite of talking is waiting". - Fran Lebowitz

May you stop to listen, and may you be heard