We all have feelings and opinions. One of the best ways we have to understand each other’s feeling and opinions is to listen, to simply stop talking, open our minds and our hearts, and listen to what the other person has to say.
Listening to people who we think are different from us can be especially helpful — and surprising! Often the biggest surprise is to discover the other person is so much like us!
The other person may be older and wiser, or younger and curious. Either way, we can learn so much about other people by simply listening to what they have to say.
When we read about other people we are listening to them too, we are listening to their stories, their feelings and opinions.
I especially like to read and listen to young people who want to tell me their stories. One of my favorite books was written by a young person. Her name was Anne Frank. She wrote a book titled The Diary of a Young Girl.
Anne Frank spent much of her young life in hiding away from danger during World War II, yet she never lost her positive spirit and her undying joy of life. We can learn so much about her — and ourselves — by reading and listening to her diary.
Anne Frank
All the years she lived in silence,
All the years she lived so small;
All the years she lived in darkness,
All the years behind the wall.
All the years she lived in shadows,
All the years she lived to write.;
All the years she lived to show us
How to live our lives in light.
—Charles Ghigna
Read more about Anne Frank and her secret hiding place in the attached article from FACES, our magazine for kids ages 9 to 14 that is all about travel, geography, and world culture.
