Everyone has a point

Still on the theme of fables, today I am reminded of one that has an incredible message.  The Point by Harry Nilsson is a story of a boy named Oblio who was the only round headed boy in Pointed Village where 'by law, everything and everyone had to have a point.' Oblio is forced to hide his pointless state by wearing a pointed hat so that he can be accepted in the community.  Eventually word gets around and people are willing to tolerate his 'nonconformity.' To Oblio's misfortune, an evil force who was dishonoured by Oblio in a game insists the King uphold the law of the pointless and banish Oblio and his dog Arrow. Off to the Pointless Forest they go only to find out that everyone there has a point. They meet and learn from all the creatures in the forest. One day they awaken to find a finger pointing to their destination. You probably know where this is going...yes, Oblio ends up at the Land of Point. He is welcomed back and shares what he learned; that everything has a point.  The evil Count refuses to allow Oblio to continue and rips off his hat only to discover that Oblio has a point on his head! With that revelation, the points on everyone and everything disappears.  Everyone is round except Oblio. Now we can dissect the story (which you can easily find by googling Oblio or The Point) but that's not the intent. The point (like how I'm tying it all in?) is that everyone has something to say and wants to be heard.  It's too easy to cut someone off when they are taking an exceptionally long time to get to the end of their story or inject your own thoughts so that the conversation then shifts to you. Sometimes the message they are trying to relay is not necessarily what they say; it's what they aren't saying.  So if I may suggest, the next time you are having a conversation, quiet your mind, because it is then and only then, that hearing becomes listening, seeing becomes perceiving and speaking becomes teaching. That's my point and I'm sticking to it.