Yesterday was what I consider my day off.  I spent it reading and watching some tele.
There was one program on that seems to reflect what I have heard a lot of lately.  That is the importance of listening.  In fact, the program was called something like, “The Listening Tour.”  A guy spent 33 days cycling across the US.  On the way others would join him for the ride.  But he would make a point of listening to the locals when he stopped.  He would ask them about them.
What he found amazing is what I have found amazing just talking to people.  Everyone has a story.  Everyone.  And every story is a lesson in victory or defeat and always seems to contain elements of both.  To me it is how the story ends that matters most.
I have found the story of others amazing.  People that do not stand out in anyway but to me when I talk with them have outstanding stories.  The stories are not necessarily the stuff of legends or movies but the stuff of everyday.  The ordinary made extraordinary.
No one seems to want their life to count for nothing.  Often goals are humble yet profound like feeding the family or looking after a loved one.  Sometimes the goals are big and the desire is to make a positive difference in the lives of as many as possible.
Sometimes goals are not reached or are abandoned.  But it seems to me failure is giving up when giving up is an inappropriate response.  No denying it some choices are harder than others.  Sometimes my response is heroic and sometimes wimpish.  Knowing what to do does not mean I always do it.
Yet I do know that I grow by listening to the stories of others.  I mentioned recently a lady who turned up at our market.  She was a biologist and is now a writer.  I can tell who is pulling my leg and who is genuine.  She was genuine judging by the things she bought.  Another guy at the markets taught in China.  He told of a science experiment with a bowl and water he does that produced amazing results when the bowl is rubbed.  He learned it in China and had children fascinated by it at our Fun Day.
That sort of thing is only learned by listening.  I must admit listening is something I like to do.  Sometimes just a monologue is heard but sometimes gems of truth or experience are heard. Listening creates a meaningful encounter for both the speaker and the hearer.

Well it is early morning and I have done what I normally do.  Feed the animals. 
I often wake the fish up by emptying the condensation that is on his cover back into the tank.  He comes over and grabs the first lot of food on my finger suspended above his tank.  From then on, I put a tiny pallet in the water in front of him.  Sometimes he sees it and eats it hungrily.  At other times it goes right past him.  Anyway, I count out what I give him and what he has missed he finds and eats during the day.
I also feed the lorikeets and doves.  We have two bird feeders.  The seed we get in bulk from a produce store and it lasts weeks.  We also supplement it with food that Cockatoo’s like and occasionally they visit.
The last thing I do is feed a couple of crows.  We are thankful it is not an invasion but there is a couple we like to feed.  They come every day.  One is skittish and only eats when we are far away.  It flies off at the first sign of us appearing.  The other is different.  We have come up with a really original name for the crows.  Krow.  We always greet it as “hello Krow with a K.”
A friend mentioned how talking in a high-pitched voice is seen as non-threatening.  So I talk to the crow like that.  It has been getting closer and closer.  There is something I hope Merril catches on camera someday.
This Krow has gotten so close that it sits on the chair next to me and we contemplate the world together.  When I say “sits on the chair” he is more comfortable on the arm or back of the chair.
It reminds me of an assistance dog at church one time.  I got it a drink of water.  It came up to me later and leaned heavily on me and let me pat it.  The owner later said, “he thanked you.”  I have never seen anything like it.  But I do love animals, and they seem to sense it.
Crows are really hard to tell apart on the whole.  Though there is one that has stopped coming (nothing like a little dissuasion).  I call him Big Chest and Merril calls him Long Legs.  I personally have never seen a crow like it.  Another that we do not dissuade is one we call Hoppy.  He has a problem leg, and it is easy to pick him.
I am impressed with the actions of the crows we encourage.  Perhaps I will write about such things one time.  They do stuff in preparation for a baby (it is spring and the time of birth).
In the meantime, I have done my part (feeding) and they are doing theirs (eating).  We all have other things to do which are definitely easier to do on a full stomach.

I read something recently that Woodrow Wilson said. “I would rather fail in a cause I knew someday would triumph than win in a cause I knew someday will fail.”
I find it really interesting to look at the lives of those who influence others.  Those in power.
I have found those who carry the load are in so many ways like us all.  They have strengths and weaknesses.  Strengths are enjoyed while weaknesses invariably are exposed.  A mate of mine taking about ants or birds or fish (doesn’t matter really) used to say, “they are  just trying to hustle up a living like the rest of us.”
I feel the same way about people that are high up.  I used to have contact on a regular basis with a person who was the best in Australia at his sport.  He represented us at the Olympics.  For some reason I was talking about it with someone and they said, “you talked to him?”
Fair dinkum I regard it as one of the best complements I ever received when someone said to me “you treat everyone the same.”  It is something I know I do.  It does not matter how high and mighty someone is (their loss if they think it matters) they are the same as us. 
They enjoy what we enjoy.  They desire friendship. Often that is not forthcoming because others imagine (like the person above) they are unapproachable.
When I first arrived in Brisbane I used to play squash with someone who was a power broker where he worked.  I really appreciated those times as the person was willing to play squash against me and share with me.  They came to my farewell at work.  They did not have to but did and I was wrapped.
The point for me is it does not matter what level of society someone occupies.  Needs are the same.  Truth can be uttered by one in the most humble circumstance and one who rules.  Woodrow Wilson was the top of the tree.  Yet what he said is applicable no matter who said it.