To listen

(The happiest me, Saturday evening after LTYM rehearsal. Photo credit: Kelly Buck)

I love people. People are my favorite. They’re just so damn wonderful. They make me crazy happy. I love stories. Hearing stories, telling stories, writing stories, photographing stories, singing stories. I LOVE STORIES. Stories heal, bring us together. Make us feel less alone. The fabulous thing about stories is that everyone has one, it’s a common thread amongst us humans.

But stories aren’t all the same. A few are lovely and sunshiny all the time (these make me a teensy bit jealous, which of course brings out the ugliest form of me, which then makes me a teensy bit angry). But most stories — and my very most favorite — are the gritty, painful, not-easily-come-by stories. Those are the ones that stick with me. Change me.

I spent Saturday with 14 brave women in Oklahoma City, laughing over fajitas and chocolate sheet cake, watching as each of these women courageously stood and bared their souls behind a podium in preparation for next Sunday’s Listen To Your Mother OKC show. I’m a believer of standing with others in their pain, and listening is such a beautiful way to stand with another human, to gather up and hold on to their words. This listening validates the soul. It becomes an embrace, and in these sacred moments we hold each other, and the strength we provide is beyond explanation. This space is holy.

Some of the stories in our show have been silent, waiting for years to find their voice. Sunday we give them that voice, and I’m so thankful to stand with my newfound sisters and witness the miracle of being heard and held.

Want to listen? Tickets to the Sunday May 4th, OKC, Listen To Your Mother show can be purchased here. And if you’re not in Oklahoma no worries b/c there are 32 shows across the good ol’ U. S.
of A. Find them here.