The Classic Pamela Positive: Why You Should Sit by an Older Man

Now that might sound funny, but the other day I felt called to sit by an older man.

We were at a community gathering, celebrating an organist for all her church music. 

She had performed beautifully over many years and she was a lovely person. We had contributed goodies and a potluck, and a celebratory cake. People were laughing, chatting and sharing memories. It was a wonderful sense of togetherness, that we often miss in our social media society.

But on the couch was an older man. He didn’t look down, he didn’t look up, he was just sitting there. I asked a friend who he was.

 

“He’s the father of one of our members here, and he’s blind.”

I thought what that must feel like.

He’s in a sea of people and conversation….and no one’s talking to him…..

yet he hears everything.

It must be a big loud jumble… but nothing specifically directed towards him…… My heart went out to him.

I went right away over to the couch and sat down with him. I held his hand and said,

“I’m Pamela! Who are you? Are you having a nice day?”

His eyes perked up and he continued to look ahead. His face crinkled with a smile. He proceeded to tell me, with very joyous terms, about who he was, his life, and fascinating stories of history. He remembered the time when the Korean War was mentioned in school as well as when World War II was being announced. What prolific, historical events to be a youngster and to hear this global and national news. So monumental, so devastating.

He had many fascinating stories to tell about his childhood, about the importance of his aunt, his mom\’s sister, and how devoted she was to church and community.

I listened, listened, listened.

We had such a joyous time.

Having our quiet time of sharing, amidst a joyous gathering.

In our lives, that\’s all that really needs to be done is to listen, listen, listen, listen with love, listen with your heart.

Everyone has a story. Everyone has a story to tell. And so we listen.

What yours? If you want your story to be heard, if you want to be known… then take some time to listen. Take time to listen to someone else’s story. You will learn; they will love you for it. You both will be enriched and, in this case, a blind man’s eyes opened my blind eyes.

I Want to Hear Your Story,

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Fig¹. Photo by Huy Phan on Unsplash Fig².  Photo by Rhand Mccoy on Unsplash  Fig³. Photo by Toa Heftiba on Unsplash Fig⁴.  Photo by Alex Holyoake on Unsplash  Fig⁵. Photo by Mimi Thian on Unsplash

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