Paul Jenkinson, a 70-Year-Old Man Listens to Strangers with Just Two Chairs and a Sign
Paul Jenkinson, 70, is a retired social worker who just wants to make time and hold space for strangers and listen. “Like the strangers on the plane who you’re never going to see again,” he said.
Based in Canada, Paul is on a listening tour, bringing just two chairs and sign board the reads “Here to listen,” in communities where people barely have time to chat with each other.
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| Source , shared with permission |
Based on his own experiences and qualifications, Paul would set up his invitation in the local park, hoping he could offer support to strangers by just listening. At first people would be curious and require some courage to come and sit with an older man. But after reading the sign back and forth, they would ultimately return. But Paul doesn’t mind waiting.
At the end of the day, Paul believes that people are experts of their own lives, and that all they really need is someone to chat with. So Paul would hold no specific topic in his list to talk about. Rather, offer a safe space for others to talk about whatever comes to their mind, without even worrying about running out of time.
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| Source , shared with permission |
One afternoon, a man hesitated but then sat down next to Paul. “I don’t usually talk to strangers,” the man said, looking down. “That’s okay,” Paul replied gently. “You don’t have to say anything you don’t want to. I’m just here if you want to talk.” The man nodded, and soon shared a story about feeling lonely after losing his job.
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| Source , shared with permission |
“One woman told me, ‘I lost my husband last year, and some days it just feels too much,’” Paul recalled. “I didn’t say much, just listened. She thanked me for that.”
Another time, a woman shared, “I’m homeless right now. It’s hard out there. It helps to just talk to someone who listens.”
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| Source , shared with permission |
“People would sit down and say, ‘I don’t even know why I’m telling you this,’” Paul said. “But I think we all need that space to be heard.”
“Plus, there’s no time limit or topic preference to these conversations. So once people start talking, they talk about anything and everything,” he told CBC.
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“We spend so much time talking, but when you sit and listen… really listen… you realize how rare that is,” Paul reflected.
He doesn’t have a permanent home during this project. Instead, he travels wherever he’s invited and has a place to stay.
Paul says the tour has changed him as much as the people who stop to talk. “You think you’re doing this for others,” he said, “but it ends up changing you too.”
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Paul has been currently touring across Canada and often shares updates on his Patreon.
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