National day of listening: a time to shush

November 25, 2010

National day of listening: a time to shush

Happy Thanksgiving! We hope you have a wonderful and peaceful holiday, enjoying food, friends and family today.

But let me just say this about tomorrow - here at STSL, we think the whole idea of Black Friday is...how can we put this politely?

Stupid.

It's rather pointless to participate in Black Friday by going to Walmart at 3 AM to buy something that:

you don't need
will put you in debt
won’t impress anyone else
might get you killed in a stampede

Perhaps, instead of mindless consuming we can consider participating in the National Day of Listening on November 26th. (Many thanks to RowdyKittens for bringing this to my attention!) The idea is to interview someone you care about; giving them the opportunity to tell their story and really listening to them.

The National Day of Listening site has all kinds of helpful goodies to get you started for your day of aural delight. If you are interested in documenting your interview, they have information about using various recording devices - computers and iPhones seem to be popular choices. If you find yourself a little tongue tied, they have a list of favorite Story Corps questions to ask – everything from "do you have a nickname?" to "how do you imagine your death?" And if you want to share your interview, there is a place to post it online.

Listening is a skill - one I am trying to work on. It can be challenging for me to just listen to someone, without interupting to offer my opinion amid a flurry of judgements. Listening is an incredible gift, I know this because I have some people in my life who are amazing listeners; I always come away from those conversations feeling validated, important and heard.

Thanksgiving is often a time one spends with family, so instead of rehashing age-old family dramas, it might be the perfect time to ask some simple, open-ended questions and then just listening to what comes up. Everyone has a story to tell - and some of them might just surprise you.

For more from Lisa, check out www.justherejustnow.com

Nov 25, 2010 8:23:40 AM | Family, Soul