Stacey’s Table 4

Location/City: Toodyay

About how long were you at the listening table?: 3 - 5 Hours

About how many people stopped to talk?: 1

Reflection:

What an absolutely spectacular day I've had today. Several opportunities presented themselves for me to practice active listening today and I am chuffed beyond words.

But now I get to write about it.

Absolutely glorious.

A young lady came to the table today to speak about a situation she was experiencing. She explained it really well and was open to understanding and learning. She asked for my input and advice but I was careful to not interject my own opinions or point of view. We shared information about ourselves as she asked questions about me too. About a third of the way through the conversation I introduced myself and we swapped names. I remember not being fully present as she said her name and much to my disgust and chagrin, I forgot it. She had her young daughter with her which may have contributed to my lapse but nonetheless I restored integrity by apologizing and explaining that I wasn't present. She laughed and said it was no worries. It's the Australian way lol. No worries is our motto. Hakuna Matata for the fans.

I am so glad that I had had the idea to take a colouring book and pencils with me every time for the table and today they got used!!! The little one sat quietly and coloured in while her mother and I talked. We were frequently interrupted of course but the silences and attendance to the little tacker were comfortable and easy to deal with. She was positively delightful.

Otherwise I was very present for the whole conversation and she expressed that our conversation really made her think about how she was feeling in herself in this situation which she found helpful. I asked her about herself to prompt her self reflection and gained insight that she is a very self aware individual. I felt so inspired because she was aware of a lot of the things that I have only gained an understanding of in the last few years of my life. This brings me so much joy.

At the end I said that I hoped our conversation had helped her see things anew and given her some perspective. She replied that that was why she'd stopped to talk in the first place, thanked me and said she would be back next time with some friends.

After a few terrible night's sleep and dealing with some self doubt earlier in the week, elated hardly encapsulates my entire days experiences but here I am riding this joy train and hoping to share some of it with all of you.

How did this experience change your life?:

Self doubt is real, but so is the evidence of where we are aligning with our values and principles and standards and how much of a beautiful difference we can make in people's lives... and they can make in ours.