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Listeners



Here is a charming little video that I came across thanks to my friend Lisa's post on Facebook.

It is a movie that honours an intricate tale told to the filmmaker by a 6 year old.  It's about Asa Bear and Toby Mouse and it's about the possibilities of making up something as you go.  And it is also about not being afraid to change things midstream to make sure the story is as good as you think it can be.  It's also so much about the listener of the story and what she gets out of it.  If we listen properly, you just never know what might happen next.  The filmmaker discovers a lot about herself from this story and its teller.

The results are fanciful and outrageous and moving and true all at the same time.  Watching it made me wonder, what would happen if I listened intently and faithfully to all the details all the way through my daughter's stories?  How would everything be different if I didn't start planning the supper/the laundry/work in the middle of her telling me stories?

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