Moss – The Wise Listener

🦉 The Story of Moss

Moss lived high in an old oak tree, where he had a wonderful view of the woodland.

From his branch, he could see things that were difficult to see from the woodland floor.

He could see where the paths joined.

He could see when the river changed direction.

He could see creatures rushing from one place to another.

And sometimes, he could see that someone who appeared to be standing still was actually trying very hard to work out which way to go.

Moss didn’t rush to tell them what he could see.

He had learned that having a different perspective doesn’t mean that you should decide for someone else.

Moss first noticed Rowyn sitting beside the river, Rowyn had been trying to work something out. He had several ideas but couldn’t decide which one was right.

Moss flew down from the tree and settled nearby.

Rowyn looked up & asked “Do you know what I should do ?”

Moss tilted his head - “I can tell you what I can see. But I can’t tell you which path matters to you.”

Rowyn thought about this - It was a little different from what he was used to hearing.

Moss became fascinated by the things that weren’t immediately visible . . .

A creature might say : - “I don’t want to do that.” - Yet underneath was thinking : - “I’m worried I’ll get it wrong.”

Someone may say : - “I can’t.” - But perhaps they had never been shown a way that worked for them.

Others might seem disengaged, probably it may be that they're feeling overwhelmed.

Some initially might appear confident - Yet possibly they were desperately worried about failing.

Moss didn’t assume that he knew the answer - Instead, he asked :

“What else might be happening ?”

Moss became the Woodland Family’s reflector - He helped creatures pause and look back at what they had experienced . . .

What happened ?

How did that feel ?

What did you learn ?

What surprised you ?

What would you do differently ?

What do you know about yourself now that you didn’t know before ? - And perhaps most importantly : - “What do you think ?”

Because Moss understood that reflection wasn’t about finding the answer that somebody else wanted.
It was about helping someone make sense of their own experience . . .

Moss represents perspective and reflection, He reminds mentors that what they see may not be necessarily the whole story.

A mentor sees a behaviour.
The mentee experiences a situation.

Those two things aren’t always the same.

Moss encourages mentors to pause before interpreting what they see and ask :

“What might I not yet understand ?”

And when a mentee reaches a decision, Moss doesn’t decide whether it is the right one.

He helps them think through :

What matters to them
What they know
What they still need to find out
What choices they have
What the consequences might be
What they want to do next

That makes Moss particularly important to your Explore → Inform → Reflect → Decide journey.

“Moss reminds us that seeing something from another perspective can help us understand it differently. But understanding someone else’s situation does not mean deciding what they should do.”

And his little motto :

“Look again, There may be more to see.”

So our Woodland Family is beginning to have such a lovely set of distinct personalities :

And I think Moss is going to be particularly important when the course asks mentors to move from judgement to curiosity.

He is the little owl who reminds everyone : What you see is only the beginning of the story.  🌳💚
🦉 Moss - The Wise Observer

“Look again, There may be more to see.”

"I once tried standing up on my toes to see far out in the distance, but I found that I could see much farther by climbing to a high place"
Xun Kuang