Tammie Leonard offers affirmation cards and a lending ear through a 'Free Listening' initiative. (Teena Monteleone/paNOW Staff)

By Teena Monteleone

Listen Ladies

‘Listen ladies’ lend an ear to strangers

Jul 17, 2019 | 5:37 PM

Armed with affirmation cards and open ears, two women in Prince Albert are joining a movement to recover the lost art of listening.

Cheryl Ring got the idea from a social media post that showed a group of people sitting on a street corner with signs that read ‘free listening’ – offering their full attention to anyone who wanted to share.

“I just loved the idea and thought we need to do it here in P.A.,” Ring said.

For a couple of hours, once or twice a month, Ring and her friend Tammie Leonard make themselves available for anyone who needs to be heard. On Tuesday, they were set up in Memorial Square on Central Avenue, handing out affirmation cards and glass pebbles. One of the cards read, ‘I am grateful for my life. I show and share gratitude.’

“The pebble is just for them to carry as a reminder that they matter, their life is important and they have a purpose,” Leonard said.

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Leonard, who is a retired teacher, now runs a business called Inspired Action that helps people change their mindsets to a more positive and motivated state.

“People want to know they matter and if you stop and take that two seconds to chat with them you can make such a connection,” Leonard said. “It’s like someone making eye contact with you when they walk by and say ‘Hi’ …it’s just that connection of feeling that they matter.”

Doris Broussi (left) enjoyed a conversation with Cheryl Ring during a free listening session in downtown Prince Albert. (Teena Monteleone/paNOW Staff)

Ring set up her ‘Free Listening’ sign for the first time about a year ago. She said within five minutes, a young woman had sat down beside her and started talking about the difficulties she was facing in life.

“If they want to talk, we’ll listen but it’s really grown beyond that. People just want a connection and are just happy to chat and then all of a sudden you have a free listening session without them even realizing it,” Ring said.

The free listening movement encourages imbalanced conversation where most of the talking is coming from the person you’re listening to. They don’t try to change anyone’s mind and they don’t offer advice.

“An older fellow I sat with talked about the past,” Leonard said. “For him, sharing was important and there was nobody around for him to reminisce or recall those memories that made him feel good.”

The free listeners invite anyone to join them, whether they too would like to lend an ear or simply share a story.

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teena.monteleone@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @TeenaMonteleone