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| But the dog doesn't only need that soup-bone. He needs me more. So he drops it at my feet and well, see how he stares at me? Waiting for the next story and what's next? Because that is the beautiful bond between us. |
There has to be a somebody and a somewhere and the somebody wants something BUT there's a problem (or two) and so then something happens and something is solved or something isn't and whether it takes two seconds or two minutes and even if the story isn't that good, that story is worth something. It is. Always. Even if only one person really heard it, really felt it ring like a little bell inside, the very story that was needed.
All storytellers, all writers know this. And all listeners do too. We see each other in stories, we make eye-contact despite whatever perceived-barriers. Maybe we could all understand each other much much more than we realize, but we just aren't listening to each other's stories as carefully as we need to.
It's child's play. But people grow up and forget. Sad.
“The stories people tell have a way of taking care of them. If stories come to you, care for them. And learn to give them away where they are needed. Sometimes a person needs a story more than food to stay alive.” -from ‘Lessons for Grownups fromChildren’s Books’
8 comments:
Profound - this one hit home.
I know I try to be a good listener, but I catch myself drifting at times. Shame on me.
We think giving gifts matters, but giving our attention matters more.
Thanks for this one!
Smile and Be Happy, Jenny
PearsonReport
Write Brain Challenge
Everything that humans think and do boils down to stories. Everything.
@DSWS Bingo.
Though we all have a story to tell it's the listening that enriches and recalibrates our stories, makes subtle alterations to inflection, leaves them more rounded and better to hear. People who have listened tell the best stories, people who have experienced have a story to tell but a listener has an added soundtrack.
And thank you. We needed to hear that.
So true. We should all listen to each other's stories more. I think there are too many of us nowadays who would rather hear the sound of our own voices than listen to someone else's.
If only we listened to others with the same intensity that we talk. (Lily Tomlin?)
and what dsws said. Plus 5.
You nailed it. Like I'm fond of saying:
It's always something.
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