Category Archives: Art of the Listen – Bench Talk

What you hear when you really listen is much richer than what you hear when you talk. Read some of Darla’s thoughts as she listens to other’s stories.

Art of the Listen - Bench Talk, Political Muck and Such

“Friendship Benches” in Zimbabwe

Maybe if the TV women who are calling another woman names would just sit down and talk with that woman, there would be a whole different kind of news report.
Benches, like roller derby, are global.  And the need to sit and talk on a bench equally transcends.   From the website “A Mighty Girl” comes this story.   Or check it out yourself at  Friendship Bench Project- Zimbabwe at http://www.friendshipbenchzimbabwe.org/

(Thanks to E for sharing this bench story!)

SKATE ON!

Darla

May 27 at 5:42pm

Continue reading “Friendship Benches” in Zimbabwe →

Art of the Listen - Bench Talk, Political Muck and Such

A thought about memorials….

….just a thought on Memorial Day in the United States,

In the middle of our thoughts, remembrances, thanks and prayers, perhaps there is something we don’t say often enough.

Implicit in this day of thanks is the prayer we will never have to honor another fellow human fallen in war.   Anywhere in the world.

So, let’s get on with it.

SKATE ON!

Darla

(for some reason this bench photo at the monastery in Montserrat, Catalonia, Spain seemed to fit.)

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Art of the Listen - Bench Talk

Why Watch a Fairy Tale Wedding?

Did you watch it?  The royal wedding of Prince Harry and  Meghan?  Did you get up early just to catch the adoring crowds, the dress, the kiss, the carriage ride?

I have to say most everyone who talked to me this past week did!  And pretty much the rest of the world.  I talk to a lot of girls, you know.

So everyone watched.  Well, except for a few naysaying individuals who were checking their wallets,  probably afraid someday a daughter, a son or partner will say “I want a wedding just like Meghan’s and Harry’s!”

So why did we watch starry-eyed, do you think? Continue reading Why Watch a Fairy Tale Wedding? →

Art of the Listen - Bench Talk

Mother’s Whispers

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Hello!

It’s a beautiful Mother’s Day filled with cards, flowers, well wishes and memories.  Quite the Hallmark occasion.

In the middle of all the talk this Mother’s Day, though, if you stop for a moment you will hear the mothers’ whispers.  These aren’t the giant moments, not the monumental landmarks or the potent stamps of motherly advice that carry us through the rest of the year. Continue reading Mother’s Whispers →

Art of the Listen - Bench Talk, True Derby, Twinkle Lights Stories

Natalie’s Light

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As you know from the book, in my story I see the twinkle lights when I can’t figure things out.  And they point the way.

When Natalie couldn’t see her way, she took her life.  This nightmare, however, sent a different kind of inspiration to her mother.  The result is this beautiful woman’s path to shed light where other teenagers may see none.

Many thanks to the Augusta Soul City Sirens roller derby club for making Natalie’s Light their charity.

Please visit her website.

Enough said.

SKATE ON, NINA

Darla

(A bench in Big Bend National Park, TX and a light from above was a perfect spot for this blog piece.)

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