Page 63 There is an implicit, and sometimes explicit, discourse in the text about trust, vulnerability, and the goodness of humans. What and whom did Andrew have to trust on his walk? What are the potential consequences of trusting others? Are there consequences, too, involved with not trusting others?
Page 54 Andrew carries “little polished pebbles” called vogesite stones along his journey. What do you see as the significance of his choice to carry the vogesite stones and then share them with people? What do you believe Andrew was anticipating by carrying the stones on his journey?Think about the journey you are about to take in this new school year at Lawrenceville. What are you anticipating about the people you’ll encounter along the way?
Page 26 One of the rules Andrew created for himself during the walk was to see everyone as extraordinary. . . “I’d view everyone as a teacher of some sort”. What might be challenging about living with this rule? How might you practice seeing everyone as a teacher while at Lawrenceville?
Page 48 Andrew notes that, “...I didn’t take a smartphone. I knew I’d just end up nose-down, following the blue dot across the entire continent. There was magic in not knowing, a transformation of the unremarkable into the sublime” What impact, do you think, does Andrew’s choice not to take a smartphone have on the experience he has while on this journey, both with himself and with others? Can you think about an experience that you had that would have been significantly different, for better or for worse, if you did not have a device with you? What impact do you think being “smartphone free” would have on your lives at Lawrenceville?
Pages 79 & 149 Andrew explores concepts of silence, listening, and the dynamic of the inside-outside self in Walking to Listen-- particularly in the sections of the book where he is walking in the American South. While in Selma, he references the “appalling silence of the good people,” reflecting on a quote from Dr. Martin Luther King, and he grapples with staying quiet, “disgusted at my silence, stunned by the power of my fear”. Why is Andrew disgusted by his silence? Can you think of a time when you have been “disgusted at your own silence” in your own life?
How might our community use listening as a way to open the world to us, both here and beyond the gates?
How can asking sincere questions help us to better understand each other?
Andrew asks the reader to imagine, through his own journey across America, what it means to listen, to be present in the moment. How does Walking to Listen describe these moments of being present and attentive? How does being present allow Andrew to have an experience that he may otherwise have missed? What does Andrew learn about listening along the way?
This is borrowed from an exercise that Andrew has used with students to create their own “micro-journey”. He describes it as a scavenger hunt with “each item on the list as an invitation to engage with themselves, each other, and their environment as trustworthy listeners.” Give it a try!
1. Find a moment of beauty or wonder. Why/How did it speak to you?
2. Seek an insight.
3. Experience solitude. Find a spot where you can rest alone. No reading. No phone. No music. Just be. What happens when you are alone with yourself?
4. Really see someone and listen to them.
5. Be vulnerable.
6. Find gratitude.
7. Challenge an assumption.
8. Interact with your environment in a new way.