How About Listening to Understand Rather Than to be Heard?
Part 2. The waiting room.
We sort of make eye contact
as we sit down.
Some of us have boobs.
Some have hair.
Some wear yoga pants, others pearls.
All of us wear wristbands and carry a heavy load.
All of us are here
Because the one body part that is uniquely femininely ours
is waging war.
Maybe that body part fed her babies.
Maybe it made her feel beautiful. Seen.
Maybe she waited years, envying her friends, silently bargaining with God.
Maybe her name is Margaret.
Maybe - Probably
she has a love/hate relationship with it.
But.
All of us are here to be heard (then healed)
in that order.
We need you to listen.
To everything.
To our body language, our words
(the spoken and the unspoken)
our fears and then,
finally,
our eyes.
For - if you pay attention - our eyes will fill in the blanks.
And to the mother - or maybe mother in law - who complained that they’d been waiting 2 hours…
When your daughter plaintively said, “I told you it was going to be a long day. You said it was ok.”
The proper response would have been “I’m sorry. Let me tell you the ridiculous thing your father did yesterday.” or. “You’re right. There isn’t anywhere else I need to be.” or. “Have I told you that you look beautiful bald?”
Anything would have been better than, “They have no right to keep us waiting like this. It’s inconceivably rude.”
I kind of hope you’re a neighbor.
Either way, I heard you loud and clear.
And so did she.
Sadly, we both understood.
PS
Installment one of this serial experiment can be found here.
Currently, I’m doing a “deep dive” into song lyrics. And by deep dive, I mean listening to Spotify.
I’m fairly certain that if we - as a nation - listened to better, well-crafted song lyrics, our world wouldn’t be in such shambles. It’s just a theory.
But maybe…
If we’re patient enough, we will make it a little longer until the Swifties are old enough to change the tide. They are listening to crazy good lyrics and poetry. On repeat.
So…I’m hypothesizing, but pretty sure they will insist on better options than Biden and Trump. While we have sadly not been able to do so.
Could the decline of our great nation be linked to song lyrics and not old ass politicians, loud extremists, and a global pandemic?
Stick around to find out.
Oh my goodness, I adore this and you for writing it.
That long wait could have been some of the last minutes with the young woman... my daughter was diagnosed with a glioblastoma on December 6th, 2005; her 4th birthday. We had many long waits and 98% of those around us were patient, loving, and kind. She was obsessed with music and we let it buoy us through the rough patches and long waits.
This was on of her favourites https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=W7L_tAIYYM8&feature=share
I wrote a book about her short life and the sweet lessons she taught me.
Music could teach us so much about what is important, loving one another, and a future we could create with patience, love, and compassion for all creation.
I am listening... 💞🐞💞
Listened to (& read the lyrics) this song🩷
Love everything you write!!