Listen Like a Librarian

At work the next day, I filled in for The Other Ken, running the morning group.  An older woman sat quietly throughout the session.  At the break I encouraged her to join the discussion. She said she liked to listen.

“Some people aren’t really listening,” she said. “Some people listen only long enough to disagree. I listen like a librarian.”

“I don’t follow,” I said.

“I listen and store away what I’ve heard, like books on a shelf.  Every now and then I have to rearrange the books. I had volumes on how I could drink socially. I moved them from the reference section to fiction.”

I wondered if I needed to listen more, and if I needed to rearrange some of the books on my mind’s shelves.

Today I will listen like a librarian.

Jury Duty © 2020 by Ken Montrose

Jury Duty is a work of fiction. Any similarity between the characters and anyone you might know is purely coincidental.

Other works by Ken Montrose are available at: www.greenbriartraining.com https://www.pinterest.com/kenmontrose/mt-rose/