SEELEY LAKE - The final storytelling for this season occurs 7 p.m. Wednesday, June 15 at the Seeley Lake Foundation Building.
We started this community event last fall with the belief that stories can bring a community together. Some may be controversial; most are not. Many are about experiences we find as common while others may seem less so. But, everyone needs to have the opportunity to respectfully offer their thoughts and experience with others respectfully listening. How do you create the atmosphere where a meaningful dialogue occurs? Where do we start? Many of us believe that begins with Telling Stories.
Listening, truly listening, does not come naturally. Truly listening is the hardest part of having a meaningful dialogue. As someone talks, our minds automatically stop listening and we begin thinking about how we are going to respond. Do we agree, disagree or maybe just want to add to what is being said.
Because we do not place our focus on listening, we often miss the essence of what the speaker is trying to convey. We miss the full story. We misunderstand “why” the speaker’s statements are important to her and fit into what she believes in her heart to be true. To truly listen enables us to ask questions to better understand what the speaker is trying to tell us. It tells the speaker that we care about what he is saying, that we want to understand, that we don’t want to misinterpret and we appreciate where he is coming from.
Each of us truly has a different perspective or lens through which we view our lives and the lives around us. By listening, we not only show respect, but the chance for the discussion to be more meaningful and productive occurs. To be good listeners is to build trust between us.
Our storytelling events are an exercise in listening and discovering common values. Bringing folks from across the valley to tell their stories, “Why did they come here and why do they stay.” Were there common values that brought us here and keep us here? We had to truly listen to appreciate and understand whether individual stories had common threads or values that weaved into a community story. The stories were revealing.
“The place and the people” have been the most common values of almost everyone’s story - the beauty and the desire to keep it as we found it, as well as the people. We are a community that cares about each other. We are a friendly people, friendly to each other and to visitors. Friendships made here are long lasting.
These are clearly fundamental values that are foundational in bringing us together in this valley. There are probably others but we know these exist, because we “listened.” If we focus on these common values in our discussions and continue truly listening, we will better understand each other and lead to a better and more united community in this beautiful valley we call home.
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