I have been told I talk too much at certain times of my life. I can also blend into crowds, so no one knows I am there. I have been told I can walk into a room and, in five minutes, be having a conversation with someone I just met as I have known them for years.
I have learned there is a time to talk and, more importantly, to listen. Not enough people listen wholeheartedly to someone standing right in front of them.
I have also found listening to people preach at me about anything is boring. If a person has already decided about a subject they're talking about, they leave no room for a conversation. It is their way or no way. If they have already figured out the answer, they do not need me to listen and be their 'Yes, man.'
No one needs a 'Yes, man.' How can a conversation be enjoyable if you are surrounded by people who agree with everything you say? You, then, are just feeding your ego.
If you are around people who talk in statements, you know it doesn't matter what you say. You are better off being quiet and leaving the conversation as fast as is polite. Yet, if too many people let the loudest speak, the many are never heard.
Often I have left a conversation, and once away from the noise a loud talker can make, I think of the perfect reply I could have said to someone. Ultimately, it doesn't matter because you know the loud talker will not have heard you anyway.
It would be an interesting world if people could sit at a table and talk about anything. What a world it would be if, while talking with people, you didn't have to be worried about what you said. If you said something that hurt someone, they would interject and calmly explain why you hurt them with your words.
Right now, in the world, the list of topics, phrases, and words you can not use seems to outweigh the words you can use. Once again, it makes life boring to listen to the same safe subjects being talked about when a group of people is together.
You do not learn anything new by listening to topics deemed safe. You stop learning as soon as people stop questioning the loudest person talking. But I do not want to listen to people fight, either.
How to have honest conversations without getting into fights has been lost along the way. @Dreemsteem made up a new word/hashtag called #speekpeece. I do not have all the finer points on how she is using the word this month, but the more I thought about the #speekpeece word, the more I realized how wonderful it would be if when talking to others, even when not agreeing with them, you stopped and thought about how you worded your reply.
I am not saying to sugarcoat your conversation. I am saying to talk to the other person you might disagree with as you would speak to yourself or how you would want someone to talk to you.
Talking to someone that doesn't always agree with you is a chance to learn something new. You might disagree with what they are trying to teach you, but now you are wiser, knowing something you didn't know before the conversation. #speekpeece. One can dream of it.
Is it a dream to think people from all walks of life can learn how to sit together, learn from one another, and leave a conversation happy because they feel heard? It's all anyone wants in the end. To feel like your ideas, feelings, and thoughts matter. I do not think that is asking a lot from our world.
It will take practice. It will have to start somewhere. Why not give it a go yourself? I think you will be amazed at what you will receive once you start #speekpeece'ing with people.
Who knows. If you try it, you might have as much fun as Pentatonix did by making the video below.
This post was made for @Ablaze's #ThreeTuneTuesday. The songs were found on Tuesday, September 13, 2022. It has taken me until tonight to finally have enough brain power to write this post. Life is funny that way sometimes.
I am really enjoying making posts around music. Thank you, Ablaze, for making this contest up!! Hopefully, I will finish my post next week in a reasonable time.
To be clear, the tag #speekpeece was made up by @Dreemsteem. Her original post talking about the tag can be found here: Keeping my promise
I hope everyone has a weekend full of laughter and good conversations!
Thumbnail: Photo by Vera Arsic
All photos are mine unless otherwise stated.
