Thursday, June 6, 2013

Share An Important Listening Story with Us

We would like to hear how listening had helped you connect and bridge differences in your life. Share a story with us that tells about an important listening event in your life. You don't have to share just one story you can share as many as you like.

To share a story with us: scroll to the bottom of this post and click on the text that says post comment. A dialogue box will open, in this box type your story. When you are done just click the post button.


Here is an example to get you started:

In the early 70’s, I worked for a few years in a “group home” for troubled kids who were labeled by the system as being  “disturbed or delinquent.”  The director of the home really loved kids, as did I.  I was lucky to work with him because I was green at this work and right away he demonstrated how important it was to listen to the kids and understand where they were coming from.  It was all too easy to react to their anger and hostility, but in this home we didn’t react.  We kept in mind what had made the kids so angry and hostile and when we kept loving them and listening to them, little miracles started happening.  No, not just little, rather powerful things happened.  In our group meetings, we asked a lot of questions and gave the kids plenty of opportunities to express their feelings and also give their ideas for resolving difficult issues.  Difficult issues or problems were often solved by the kids themselves.  We empowered them and they rose to the occasion – not always, but often enough.  The end result is we became a caring community rather than being just a group home.