NATIONAL BE HEARD DAY
DAY 7, MARCH 7, 2024
This is one day that needs to be taken off the calendar.
The problem is that too many people speak, telling their side of their story, but no one listens. Thus, we have wars between nations, wars on the streets of our neighborhoods, schools, shopping centers, theaters, football fields, marathons, you name it, cause we feel we have a right to be heard. But who decides what is truth? I don’t know of any human being that can do that.
Instead, maybe we need a day to be silent, a day to think about what’s coming out of our mouths, a time to remember that the words we speak shape our lives and affect the lives of others around us.
Therefore, I’m all for getting rid of National Be Heard Day. We don’t need it. Let us replace it with a NATIONAL LISTENING DAY where we listen to our sisters or brothers struggling to build a better life for their families, to the women working at the cash registers and barely making enough to support their families.
We need to listen to five, six, seven and eight-year-old kids working in factories and will never have the opportunity to know what real childhood is like; listen to those kids who are recruited for wars at an early age and learn how to kill without learning that life is precious and listen to those children that are malnourished because of lack of food.
When we listen to the world’s heartbeats, our hearts will erupt into a change that brings a different kind of action, and the world will be a better place, and we won’t need to be heard.
That is enough for today. I need to move on. My two projects are calling me. I need to finish my reread, do some shopping, and relax. The European League is playing today.
A pic of my palm tree with a new tiny leaf is below to make you smile. The leaf has yet to open, but I’ll let you know when it does.
Take time today to listen to the heartbeats of the world.
Shalom shalom,
Pat Garcia
Hi Pat! You’re so right about everyone talking over everyone, and about all the voices we need to listen to and take action for! I enjoy listening to people and their stories.
My mom and her sister, both elderly and half-deaf, would talk over each other. One day I followed behind them as they walked, arm-in-arm, around their little lake. They began to argue, and it got pretty heated. They were each talking about completely different subjects! It seems to be more common than you’d think, even by people with perfectly good hearing. I agree, we should have a National Listening Day.
Blessings,
Patty
Hello Patty,
It would be nice when we had a National Listening Day.
Thank you so much for stopping by and take care.
Shalom shalom
I can’t believe there’s a National Be Heard Day. Millions of loud voices drummed through my head when I read the day’s name. I agree we need to listen more than we talk.
Hello, Susanne,
Yes, there is a National Be Heard Day, and I agree with you, we need to listen more instead of talking more.
Thank you for stopping by.
Shalom shalom
NOW HEAR THIS…Kudos for Pat’s suggestion.
Pat, you said a lot today and it was needed. We do talk too much and we do try to make other people agree to our side of the story. I grew up in a large family. One day one of my sisters (the funny one) decided to record us as we talked and out-talked each other. We were not listening, just talking and it was hilarious. It definitely made us think about ourselves. That’s my sister Connie, the one I enjoyed the most out of the four of us.
I never heard of National Be Heard Day.
Thanks Pat for giving us something to think about.
Ooh! I love this, Pat! I teach my students that before they respond, they must repeat what they heard so the speaker can correct any misunderstandings. It’s a great exercise in listening. Great post!
Yvette M Calleiro 🙂
http://yvettemcalleiro.blogspot.com
That is beautifully said, Pat. The world needs to listen.
Many, many thanks my dear Sonia for dropping by. Let us hope that we begin to listen.
All the best.
Shalom shalom
Pat–I’m so with you. However, I think the origins of National Hearing Day are connected to Alexander Graham Bell, because he developed hearing aids and encouraged people to learn lip reading too communicate. Today marks the day in 1876 (I think) when he sent the first telephone message to his assistant, Watson.
But we should call for a National Listening Day for all the reasons you so eloquently express here. Just knowing that children lack food and that their parents cannot provide it for them, therefore they suffer, too, is one of the great tragedies of this world, when uber billionaires are sending rockets into space as their toys (and the rockets sometimes explode on takeoff).
Child soldiers and children working in factories is a tragedy of epic proportions. The State of Alabama just lowered the age for children to work. If I’m not mistaken, the age is now 12. That’s because the governor doesn’t want immigrants in her state.
You are a kind, wonderful, insightful person. Thank you for writing this.
Many, many thanks, Wanda. Yes, Alexander Graham Bell was indeed a person who improved the quality of life for many with the telephone.
Thank you for dropping by.
Shalom shalom
It won’t surprise you that I love your baby palm tree, Pat! And, I wholeheartedly agree with your idea of changing National Be Heard Day to National Listening Day.
Thank you, My Dear Karen! She is a beauty and I have named her Hadassah.
Have a lovely day.
Shalom shalom
World Listening Day is an excellent suggestion!
Many, many, thanks, Rhonda. I am all for a Listening Day. Maybe, we could have a week of just listening.
Take care.
Shalom shalom
I fully agree with your sentiments in this piece Pat. We could learn so much if we would spend more time listening to what others say.
Hello My Dear Joy,
Yes, we could learn a lot if only we would shut our mouths and listen.
Thank you so much for dropping by and take care.
Shalom shalom
I’m all for listening. And if you think listening is important in your part of the world, you should behold the noise during an election year in the USA these days. Oy vey!
And I’ll wait for news about the wee palm tree soon. 😀
Hello My Dear Marian,
I am so glad that I am not there for the election year. I believe you all have a whole lot of noise, and that is too bad.
My little baby palm tree is named Hadassah and she sits before my computer.
Take care and thank you for dropping by.
Shalom shalom
You’re right. There’s too much shouting and not enough listening. People hear, but they don’t listen. Good luck with your challenge. I do next month’s.
Many, Many thanks, Suisanne. If only we would listen, but we don’t.
Thank you for the good luck wishes. I appreciate them.
Have a lovely day.
Shalom shalom