photo Farrak Khan

Poetry in motion
VANCOUVER Waldorf School hosts a performance by the Austin Eurythmy Ensembie, 8 p.m. on Nov. 20. The pro-

gram was inspired by and developed out of the poetry of Archibald MacLeish and features the music of Debussy,
Sibelius, Shostakovich and others. Admission is $12. The school is at 2725 St. Christopher's Rd., Lynn Vailey.

fessional Cen#é

NEW PATIENTS WELCOME

The Grande

Professional Centre

168 East 13th Sc,
North Vancouver

(across from Lions Gate Hospital)

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PARENTING ————-
| Giv

noi
TE recently heard an
adolescent girl do a

dramatic interpretation

of a poem.

Her presentation was so
powertul, so emotional, that
I didi’: simply hear her, I
actually listened to her, No
doube that was her intent,
given the tithe of the poem,
Please Listen.

“When Pash vou to Hsten
to me, and you start giving,
me advice, vou have nor
done what f ask.”

First line, immediate
attention. How often have
my children come to me and
T have interrupted their first
sentence with a solution?
How often have T taken my
experiences, applied them fo
their circumstances, and not
respected the fact that their
experiences might be differ-
ent, or at least their person-

ittes and perceptions might

\ isten
to me and you begin to tell
me why I shouldn’s feel that

yu are trampling on

my feelings.”

Second line, and my guilt
is rising. How often have I
discounted my children’s
feelings or told them to suck
it up and quit their whining?
How many times have |
stopped them mid-crisis and
told them to get their act
together before coming to
me? How often have [hurt

ES

ng 2avi
listenin

ce is

their feelings rather than iis-
tened to their expression af
those jeelings?

“When Task you to listen
to me and vou teed vou have
te do somerhing to solve my
problem, you have failed me,
strange as that may seem.”

Third line, and Pin reel
ing. This young lady is not
my daughter, but she's talk-
ing to me, Pm sure of it. In
my all-knowing capaciey of
father, and doubiy indemni-
tied because am an edues-
tor, Dhave sough7 solutions
for voung people’s problems
for years, more intensely
perhaps for my own chil-
dren. Yet, in most cases, |
cannot solve their problems,
and if I do, I have not nee-
essarily benefirted then.

Unable ro cupe with their
own inadequacies, they have
leaned on me even more,
sometimes leading to a sense
of helplessness thar becomes
a significantly greater issue
than any of the individual
problems they have faced.

See Listening next page