I'm not in the mood for formalities of greetings so please forgive me for jumping straight to the point.
Courtesy is dead, or so they say. So are good manners. And don't let me get started on chivalry and politeness. Yet, people have forgotten one important component of our human values. The art of listening. In the age of the iPhone and other such gadgets, people are becoming less and less in tune with things happening right in front of their faces. The little strip of white wire running down your shirt that symbolized your coolness in having a portable music player, a bubble, of sorts, in which you lived in your own head. That man pounding the asphalt? He has one too. That spaced-out woman in the supermarket bobbing her head to an unseen tune? She has one too. Portable music might provide a fun source of unseen and personal entertainment to some, but to others it is only a source of agony.
What does this have to do with listening, do you say? Well, everything. This age should be called the age of distractions. Its impossible for one to have even a glimmer of hope in having an actual conversation once the phones and tablets and laptops show up at the table. People lock themselves out of the loop, occasionally nodding their head to some unheard point. And that leaves us few who enjoy actual conversation, as they say, on the beach. We patter along smoothly in our statements until we hit a dead end, a virtual wall of silence in which speaking is an invitation for one to be ignored.
People might argue that they DO in fact hear what you are saying, but there is a whole lot of difference between hearing and listening. In fact, the death of listening has gone so far as to the fact that just when you needed a listening ear, someone to pour out your hopes and worries, you can't find anyone. Sure, they'll listen to you, but will they actually absorb what's being said? In this, the age of the internet, the age of trolls and memes, pouring your deepest worries out to someone will most likely get you a "Why are you telling me this?" Accompanied by a raised eyebrow. No one wants to hear that as a response.
Sometimes, its just better to shut up and listen, not just with your ears, but with your heart and your mind. Store everything you've heard in your mind, and file it away for another day. Do not offer false "help" or "joy" by telling them its going to be alright, but rather keep quiet and give them your undivided attention. Remove those ear buds from your ears for a moment, pull your eyes away from the screen of your phone, leave your hands free and loose at your sides, and just listen. Who knows? You might just brighten up someone's day instead of just your own. Just listen.
