"If there’s a world here in a hundred years, it’s going to be saved by tens of millions of little things. The powers-that-be can break up any big thing they want. They can corrupt it or co-opt it from the inside, or they can attack it from the outside. But what are they going to do about 10 million little things? They break up two of them, and three more like them spring up!"
- Pete Seeger, in YES! Magazine

Monday, August 17, 2009

Listen to Someone Else's Child

The project:
Listen to someone else's child tell a story.

Time:
15 minutes

Why bother?
Everyone wants to be heard, particularly children. But not every parent has time at any given moment to listen. Today, I actively listened to a young boy we know tell me about one of his interests (motorcycles) and his most recent escapades.

Worth it?
Yes. Though I confess I just wanted to relax and read my book, this boy really wanted to talk, and there I was, without my own kids to distract me, just a book in hand. SURELY I'd want to listen.

And, yes, I agree that adults need their own time, too, but by listening to him for a few minutes, he was happy (he'd been heard) and went on his merry way to live new story-worthy experiences while I got in some reading relaxation.
Posted by JenPB at 8:16 PM

2 comments:

  1. AnonymousAugust 18, 2009 at 2:13 PM

    What a lovely thing to do. Taking the time to listen ain't easy but it sure is most appreciated!

    ReplyDelete
  2. NomiAugust 19, 2009 at 1:58 PM

    I absolutely love this one!!!
    It is in the smallest things we do where we make a difference. What I love about this post is that you zero in on a moment and show how that tiny moment, otherwise gone unnoticed became an act of charity, an act of kindness - so great!

    ReplyDelete

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