Listening is an Act of Love

I just saw a great special on the news provider, Democracy Now. The special is about a book that has come out that is against the popular media today, which feeds us with all kinds of nonsense about how celebrities are more important and have more interesting stories than does the everyday person. The book is called "Listening Is an Act of Love" by David Isay. They set up a booth in Grand Central station in New York, and random people would bring a loved one and tell each other their stories that they remembered from childhood or whenever. Those stories were recorded and kept at the library of Congress. Stories of ordinary, everday people, not celebrities, but rather the random people.

Our history books are written by the winners, however the most important history is not told by the winners, but rather through biography of everday people. The author was interviewed and talked about all the incredible experiences that he had while listening to people's stories. It is a challenge for all of us that people are not more valuable based on their economic or popular status. Every person has a story, we need to be humble enough to listen, because that will challenge us and help us grow. He says: "If we take the time to listen, we'll find wisdom, wonder, and poetry in the lives and stories of the people all around us. That we all want to know our lives have mattered and we won't ever be forgotten. That listening is an act of love."