Words of gratitude and wonder
by Charlie Jones & Brigid Russell
Over these past 3 years we’ve convened and participated in 300 #SpacesForListening. A couple of ‘spaces’ a week. Each one is unique, with a different, one-off combination of people. And yet in each space we find that we can be ourselves, at ease even when it doesn’t feel easy, and meaningfully connected to people from all sorts of varied places.
Each space lasts just under an hour over Zoom, and consists of three listening rounds in which each of us has two minutes of uninterrupted time to speak, hear ourselves think, sit quietly, be listened to by seven people sitting virtually alongside each other.
It’s such a simple concept. Yet it feels affirming, life-changing, and so deeply human.
Why have we gathered together in 300 such spaces?
What keeps it going?
Why doesn’t it ever feel like burdensome work?
We started with a strong sense that many of us needed more space for listening to each other, and to feel heard. We were noticing how much stuff we were all holding in the bewildering grind of living and working through Covid. Nearly three years on and there’s an even greater need for space where we can talk freely and make sense of all the uncertainty, find a let-up from the harsh, unrelenting pace of life and work.
What keeps it going is the power of connection, a caring energy, and shared sense of lightening the load in the midst of the darkness and confusion. Put simply, it’s about shared humanity.
We’ve written several blogs wondering about our experiences through so many spaces for listening. We won’t repeat ourselves here except to express our heartfelt gratitude to the many hundreds of people we’ve met along the way, who have been willing to receive our messages and come along to give it a go. Including MC who chats with us both here…
For more information about #SpacesForListening see our first blog from November 2020 and see people’s comments on Twitter by searching #SpacesForListening. You can find us on Twitter at @charlie_psych and @brigidrussell51
