The Free Conversations Movement
Two chairs in a city centre and a sign “Free Conversations”.
That’s all it takes to start a movement.
On its surface, the Free Conversations Movement is that simple. But behind these chairs, there’s a man with an idea. His name is Adrià Ballester and he believes in the power of stories.
If you were to wander the streets of Barcelona on a sunny morning, you’ll likely bumb into many people. So many strangers you can’t even count them. There could be one stranger that attracts your attention though. He would be sitting on a chair, staring at an empty chair in front of him. And you could make the choice of sitting on the other side.
That’s Adrià, waiting for a passer by to stop, break the ice and tell his story.
Behind the mute faces of all strangers, there’s a story worth telling, and worth listening to.
Most of the people run past him, rushing to their jobs, their homes, their lives. But some strangers, maybe because it’s a sunny day and oh I feel like talking to somebody today, sit on the second empty foldable chair.
Then the two start talking, Adrià asking questions and listening carefully, the stranger unfolding his story, not being a stranger anymore.
After a while, they are done with their free conversation. Thus the stranger goes back on his way, a bit lighter, with a smile on his face. A story has been told, listened and eventually posted on The Free Conversations Movement Instagram feed.
The Free Conversations Movement perfectly embodies Bill Nye’s quote:
Everybody you will ever meet knows something that you don’t.
I’ve always thought I knew pretty much everything I needed to know about others. Walking past strangers on the street, I felt like I didn’t need to dig much deeper than the first impression I got from their clothes, their faces, their eyes.
What both Bill Nye and Adrià are trying to tell us is that people are far more complex than that. People are stories and even if we don’t want to read the whole thing, we should at least be aware that there is a lot we don’t know about them.
I’m not an affiliate, I have never met Adrià in person. I just happened, luckily, to stumble upon The Free Conversations Movement account on Instagram and I thought this was a story worth sharing.
In 2 years of activity, The Free Conversations Movement has allowed hundreds of people to tell their stories to the world. Often, this has been the only chance for them to have their voices heard.
Men and women of all ages, all cultural backgrounds, all income levels have sit on that empty chair telling their stories.
Like Mariana, a WWII survivor from former Yugoslavia.
This is how Adrià narrates his meeting with Mariana:
Mariana survived several wars such as World War II and the war that split her country into pieces […] Communism changed her life but never annulled her as a person.
She is a lover of history and curiosity, she sees traveling as the fruit that nourishes wisdom and that is why she has never stopped traveling despite her delicate state of health and her advanced age.
Her advice for younger generations was “boys, do not look for happiness, seek forgiveness and gratitude, start thinking about everything you do have and not everything you lack”.
And then, Adrià closes Mariana’s story with this piece:
Mariana was with me for about an hour until it started to get cold. Cities are seas of people in which each of them has a different story and many want to share theirs, because everyone, absolutely everyone, likes stories.
There’s nothing truer than that. Everyone likes stories. And out there, there are billions of stories.
You can check out the original post in the link below.
Even though we know we are “social animals” this story might sound a bit weird. You probably like the idea, but wouldn’t do it yourself. But in the end, it is mere human compassion. It’s sincere acknowledgment of the deepness of other people’s experience.
Now try to picture a world in which everybody is able to open up to strangers and to listen to their stories. A world in which subway trains are not silenced by headphones but are a place of meeting and openness. A world in which the joy of being humans is reflected in an authentc feeling of fellowship and kindness towards EVERY-SINGLE-BODY-ELSE.
You know how would I define such a world? Normal.
It should be completely normal to go out and meet someone new every day.
What we dub “strangers” are a miracle of life in an entirely dead universe that in the randomness of chaos happen to bumb into us.
Every man and woman on this planet is traveling with us through space and time on a minute rocky ball spinning in the silence. Why dont we dub them “travel mates” then? Why aren’t we aware that we are all the same thing? Why are we so afraid of others?
Society has taught us to fear what we don’t know. Thus, we put “strangers” outside of our comfort zone, out there in the darkness of the unknown.
We are the result of centuries of divisions and borders that made us suspicious and refraining to open up. For millenia, our lands were considered to be the borders of the universe. We were then brought to divide our world into smaller parts because we couldn’t see how small we already were.
Fortunately, something is starting to change.
It was 1966 when NASA first released the picture of our little planet seen from space. This beautiful, tiny sphere we call home. To many, that photo meant nothing but another scientific discovery. But some made the effort to look beyond.
Those looking beyond the Earth saw the dark vastness of the space around us.
We are all alone, in the total silence of the universe. That’s what that photo wanted to tell us. And this, dear humans, is the foundation of our brotherhood. If we really acknowledge how small we are, how similar we all are in front of the endlesness of space, then we can truly love each other. And maybe listen to each other like Adrià does.
Billions of years ago, a mighty chaotic explosion has allowed us to be here, so close to one another. Thus we should regard life on Earth, in all its form, as a miracle, and act accordingly.
The Free Conversations Movement is an outstanding example of human kindness. It shows, in its simplicity, the effort to listen and understand, the effort to appreciate everybody for the only fact that we are humans.
We all have heard of the Hong Kong protests of the last few years. And that is good thing. Because that means that the voices of those fighting for freedom have reached out across the planet. As long as their voice is heard, there’s still hope for all the Hong Kongers defending their democracy.
A couple of months ago, The Free Conversation Movement chose to settle into Hong Kong to support the cause of the protestors. It was a bold move. With the recent National security law, China has outlawed every act endorsing Hong Kong’s indipendence. That being direct or indirect. Last week the hq of Apple Daily, the most widespread indipendent newspaper on the island, was raided and his founder arrested. China has shown clearly who is the enemy they fear the most: words. And on the power of words should Hong Kongers build their last battle for freedom.
You can see now how impactful and brave is the attempt of the Free Conversations Movement to settle in Hong Kong. With the same 2 chairs and the same hand written sign, the FCM is giving a voice to those silenced by China’s repression on freedom of expression. Of course, many of them are speaking anonimously, but their voices are being heard.
Conversations are free. Talk.
Get inspired by other stories from The Free Conversations Movement here:
