A few years after I left my secondary school in Manchester, I was
invited to help out with the school's Christmas Fair and I decided to
have a go at being Father Christmas. I had recently grown my first full
beard and thought that I would enter into the role by rubbing flour into
my growth. Though I say it myself, I looked rather splendid and
certainly I attracted lots of custom.
I was enjoying myself enormously, bringing a sense of magic to so many
young children, but I was mystified by one young boy who paid for a
second visit and then astonishingly for a third. The presents on offer
were really pretty pitiful, so I asked him why he was coming to see me
so often. He answered simply: "I just love talking to you".
It was then that I realised that, in many households, parents do not
encourage their children to talk and really listen to them. This was a
lesson that I have taken with me throughout my life. So, at home, at
work, socially, always encourage family, friends, colleagues to talk
about themselves and their feelings - and really listen.
Author: Roger Darlington
No comments:
Post a Comment