Hear the Whole Song

Erika Petrelli

8 years ago

I’ve mentioned before my love of the band Mumford & Sons, and I have been delighted recently that my five-year old son has been similarly taken by them.

The other day we were listening to “Roll Away Your Stone” and I was telling him how that was the first song of theirs I had ever heard, and recounted the first time I heard it. He made me tell him the story twice, somehow as rapt by it as he was by the song.

I told him that I was in the car driving when it came on. I told him that as the first instrumental notes started I thought “Oh, this sounds nice.” And then a few moments later, when Mumford started singing, I thought “Wow, this is a really good song.” And then, yet a few moments later, when the entire band—as Dylan calls it—”went crazy,” I thought “I LOVE THESE GUYS and I must hear MORE!”. It was love at first listen, I told Dylan. But it was a layered love—it started as “oh this is nice” before getting to “I LOVE THESE GUYS!”

I think that’s true with people, too.

How many people do we meet and think “oh, they seem nice”… but then after spending a bit more time with them, or getting to know them a bit more, realize “Wow! I love this person!”

And so more importantly—how many people do we not? How many times do we settle for “oh they seem nice” without bothering to go further? How many times do we make a final judgment on a person based on limited information? How many times do we decide that this is the way a person is, despite not knowing much?

Me telling the story of how I (quickly, I admit) grew to love Mumford & Sons reminded me of the importance of making sure we’ve “heard the whole song.” In general. In a partnership. At work. When parenting. When exchanging political discourse. Because if I’m too quick to decide about you, I may be missing the best part. I’m probably missing the best part.