Walk, Talk & Listen

“Someone to tell it to is one of the fundamental needs of human beings.”

           —Miles Franklin

We can’t pinpoint one specific moment when … this journey together began. There were many moments actually—many conversations, many walks, and many beers—which in essence jump-started … this mission … 

It was on one of our walks, in a community park in New Cumberland, Pennsylvania, where it all began. We go back to that park often, especially when we need to talk, reflect, … process, or plan. 

Australian author Miles Franklin understood something profound: We are all created to share, to connect with others, emotionally, physically, and spiritually. We all want and need to be heard, to know that others listen and care. We crave intimacy. We are in a constant search for validation and for our voices to find resonance with the lives of others.

Her statement has intrigued us since the very first time we each read it. We have seen this need again and again … while in hospital rooms, while sitting with someone grieving the death of a loved one, or while comforting those in distress, pain, loneliness, or uncertainty. We have also experienced this need firsthand as we have grappled with our own families’ challenges with cancer, financial pressures, career directions, and disability. We have learned how all of us at times vitally need to be heard. We need someone to listen so our struggles and questions become shared and not ours alone to bear.

Loneliness is part of the human condition that confronts and challenges each of us.

Don’t we all need connections with others? Isn’t life about the relationships we create, the people we invite into our lives, and those who invite us into theirs? Yet most of our relationships have no significant depth, no intimacy.

We are carried through life, and while we connect with others in countless ways, most of those ways are superficial. We barely pierce the surface of our being; we rarely reveal the real issues in our lives.

This is why … Someone To Tell It To, is so significant. It is a safe place for all of us to express our feelings, with the assurance that we can confidently give voice to all that is on our minds, in our hearts, and on our souls. It is a place where we will not be judged or condemned. Rather, it is a place where we will be given the freedom to share our burdens so we may begin to find relief from them. It is a place where we will be given the encouragement to seek light instead of darkness, forgiveness instead of bitterness, and affirmation instead of criticism and negativity. It is a place where we can find comfort, a means to joy, and a path toward healing and abiding peace.

We believe that everyone needs someone to tell it to and that everyone needs grace and a safe place to share. We believe that everyone has a story to tell and a need to be listened to, that everyone is worthy and has something to offer, that everyone hungers for authenticity, that everyone has a need to be who they were created to be, and that everyone is meant to live an abundant life. 

On Saturday, May 17, Michael and Tom will return to New Cumberland’s Boro Park - where it all began - for Someone To Tell It To’s annual “Walk, Talk, and Listen” event. They will be accompanied by  Someone To Tell It To co-leader Angie Dickinson and other team members to walk, to talk, and to listen to anyone who shows up to join them in having deeper and more meaningful conversations as we continue to promote and provide human connection through the practice of listening. The event is from 10:00am. to 12:00 noon, rain or shine. 

If you are not in the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania area, no matter where you live, you can hold your own “Walk, Talk, and Listen” event, in your own community during that weekend. Just invite your family and friends to meet you and join you wherever you’d like to share in the time together. Someone To Tell It To even has special question cards to share with anyone who reaches out to us, from around the world, to have your own walk or time of sharing together. The cards are from our partners in this event, the creators of the listening and sharing game, “Cozy, Juicy, Real” We already know that friends will be gathering in Spain and in Seattle, Washington. 

Please send us photos of your event to [email protected] and tell us where you’re gathered, and we’ll post them on our social media platforms and website.