On the first day of inservice, we had a Cultural Competency Training. Many of the things spoken about struck a chord with me, but I wildly intrigued by one thing the speaker said. She shared that quietness is respectful. At the time, the statement juggled around in my head. I spent two years rallying 14 year olds around the idea of their voice as a means of empowerment and change. Quietness is nearly foreign to me. Subsequently, I struggled, initially, understand quietness any sort of trait I would want to teach my students or even adopt for myself.
Then, I came to a realization. When we're always trying to be heard, we can't hear other people. When we can't hear other people, we're limiting the rate at which we as human can evolve. To that end, I've been trying really hard to be quiet and listen. For those of you who know me well, I can see your skewed faces. Natalie? Quiet? Pahlease, this is the girl that hugs random people at wedding dances and openly broaches subjects regarded as "personal" and "private." Really, though, I've made a considerable effort at quietness and in it, I've learned to really love listening, actually listening.
So often, I listen disingenuously, waiting for my turn to speak while simultaneously crafting a witty and intelligent sounding response. Ultimately, I'm not really listening, I'm pulling away key points only to have a boxing match conversation with my companion. Lately, though, I've given up on conjuring incredible responses. It's been refreshing and more importantly, it's been a reminder of the beauty of people. People have so much to say and so much of what they have to say is a peak into their soul and I'm grateful for those little looks.
The past few days have literally been a whirlwind and for the first time in my life, I've quietly blown with it. It's been a lovely little ride.
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