Listening as Love

David Isay's "Listening as an Act of Love" was very compelling and heartfelt. It is no wonder that the recording environment that he so passionately built after his own experience of losing the recordings of loved ones would attract participants ready to share openly about their lives. StoryCorps is important in that it documents the lives of those who otherwise might be lost to time. His essay made me realize how much context is preserved through hearing the voice of a storyteller first hand rather than reading their thoughts through writing. This is also made me realize how much context is lost in photography which is probably the most widespread source of self-documentation/family history. Through the sound of someones voice would are shown their temperament and emotions in a much more tangible way. Their intonation in speaking lends much more to an audience than simple text on paper. All of the stories described were inspiring and shed light on how if we just spent more time listening to one another from a place of love, than we would realize how much we all have in common and that no single person is more important/interesting than another.