Fireside chats.

I used to write people off before I knew them. I used to think I knew a person’s value before I had a conversation with them. I used to think that by looking at a person I could gauge their intelligence, their value, their beliefs, and if they had anything to offer me in a conversation. None of this ever really kept me from having conversations with people. However, I never really allowed myself to listen to the person I was talking to. I’d approach the conversation from the same angle every time. I’d enter through the front door and I’d try my best to shape the conversation in a way that’d confirm my beliefs about the person I was talking to. This is a stupid way to have a conversation. That’s not really listening at all. That’s waiting to talk. These days I’m trying as hard as I can to imagine myself saying the words the other person is saying to me. This keeps me from entering each conversation through that front door. In fact, it puts me inside the house sitting on the couch by the fireside listening to that person’s favorite record while they tell me stories about their childhood.