Pause for Sanity: Happy National Day of Listening!

After you get home from a long day shopping, Middblog encourages you to celebrate the National Day of Listening by sitting down this evening with a friend or relative while they are still in town and listening and even recording them tell a story about their rich past. StoryCorps, who started the national holiday a few years ago, has more information about how to do this.

Another option is to listen to other people’s stories online. Stories about other Middlebury students can be found on Middlebury Magazine’s How Did You Get Here? series.

In addition, there are thousands of stories recorded by StoryCorps archived in the National Library of Congress about Americans from all parts of the country and walks of life. Below is a particularly poignant story to start with (animated by StoryCorps):

Also check out stories at This I Believe (people telling stories about what they believe in on Public Radio) and 1 in 8 million (stories told by New Yorkers about their lives).

I hope at this time of year, when we get to take a break from our busy lives and enjoy time with the people we love, you will use some of that time to take a few minutes to listen to their stories and the stories of others at Middlebury and around the country. As a result, you will find yourselves touched, inspired and entertained.

EDIT (10:50 p.m. 11/27/10): I just realized none of the links have been working. They should be working now!

EDIT (11:50 p.m. 11/27/10): I just added an animated true StoryCorps story above; it’s a great story to start with.