Something I know to be true about myself is that it’s tough for me to have surface level conversations because I tend always to crave to understand to what makes you “you” faster than most. Perhaps this why I am drawn to the elderly? They are so sweet in nature and have the most fascinating life stories – ones that are not submerged with topics like “did you see the this latest Meme?! or OMG Kim Kardashian did what?!” – things that I myself get annoyed with when I realized I’ve gone down that rabbit hole of a conversation.
As of the last year, I’ve been on a personal journey to ask myself the very question that I tend to ask others.. “what makes me, ME?” – It’s been quite the journey and one that’s not ended. The project I started earlier this year was one that I hoped would help me get to my answer faster.
If you could give one piece of advice to a large group of people, what would it be?
Listen. Listening is such a lost art. So often we’re always trying to connect the dots of how we can jump into someone’s story and relate.
The real gift of someone’s story is for you not to relate but to LEARN.
Something I have learned in working with the elderly is just how humble they are. The list of their life achievements like it’s no big deal. They don’t boast, they don’t brag, they just inform, and when they ask about you since they have a harder time trying to relate, they make for some of the BEST listeners around. They inquire, dig deeper, and like I try to get to know what makes them, they are equally trying to figure out me. If I could tell a room of a thousand people to just stop and listen the next time someone tells them a story, I promise they’d walk away from the conversation so much more fulfilled.
Photo credit: @ Kim Liv Life Photography photo taken during a Glama Shoot
