Sharing Our Deep Thoughts

By Jan Hansen

Do we talk enough about what is important to us?

I have just filmed the 36th episode of an interfaith podcast on YouTube. In it, a guest sits with our host for a fifteen minute to half hour conversation. Questions include “What is most important to you about your faith?” “How does your faith impact your life?” and “Have there been times when you have struggled with your faith, or when your faith supported you through a struggle?”.

We have spoken with bishops (who dedicate their lives to faith and have positions of some authority), atheists (who do not consider themselves people of faith, and have no authority), and many who are in between. Guests often tell us that they enjoyed the process, both of preparing for the chat and having the chat. My observation is that we aren’t often prompted to think about what is important to us, and to put our thoughts in enough order so that we can say them in a few short minutes. We also don’t get many chances to have someone actually listening to what we have to say, who is there to hear and understand us.

To give someone your attention, showing that they matter to you, is an incredible gift. In that moment, they feel connected and part of something larger than themselves, which can be a difficult feeling to find in the isolation of today’s society.

I wonder what would happen if we created opportunities for these conversations to take place. It can be hard, out of the blue, to ask someone “What would you like others to know about your faith?” Maybe our world would be a better place if we were to make spaces where these sorts of questions were encouraged. I wonder how we could do that.