To be heard

People need people. There's a small percentage that would rather die alone than be with anyone, but don't we all just want to be heard?

It's simple. People also need other things. Food, water, oxygen, sex, etc. But people need another person to be a cushion, a shoulder to cry on, a crutch. Self-explanatory? Yes. Easy to come by? Not exactly. What if the human race had no way of communicating to one another? Set aside any possibility of humans creating some machinery to fix that. Just picture it. What would life be like? It's hard to imagine, but I know for sure that I wouldn't know what to do with myself. Growing up under a Scottish roof, I'm used to just saying whatever I feel, but in moderation. Using manners and discretion, I obviously know what not to say and when not to say it.

It's been refeshing to be able to talk to someone that will just listen, without judgment, and give unbiased advice or input. I mean, think of it this way. You just had a unbearably messed up day at work, you come home and your cat or dog just took a big old Mcdumpster on the carpet. But no one's around to even hear your angry rant of colorful vocabulary and endless complaints about why this would happen to you. Would you want to keep your anger to yourself? Or would you want to someone to just hear and confirm your pissed off beyond imagination?

A long weekend has just ended for me, a weekend that wasn't meant to be anything big or even remotely memorable. Things just happened, and it's easy for me to get caught up in the frustration and the excitment. I haven't had a chance to dwell on how my car suddenly stopped working. I didn't get a chance to because I had people there to just listen. They understood my frustration and they didn't say anything to push me further into insanity or to make me feel guilty by saying "It could be a lot worse." The word "refreshing" is the ideal word to use here and also an understatement. There are quite a few people I could call up at any time to just vent whatever recent problem I'm having to. I'm definetly not the unluckiest person to walk the earth.

Meeting new people can go two ways: awkwardly or the best time of your life. Example: It's your best friends birthday and their having a party. You know a handful of people and you're having an okay time. You meet your best friends cousin, whom your best friend says you would totally hit it off with them. You introduce yourself and start talking. You find out about fives minutes into your conversation that your best friends cousin is your ex's best friend. Small world? Yeah, sure. Try awkward, uncomfortable, just bizarre. But it's easy to meet someone who can be the greatest friend you'll ever have. And it's all for a reason. You know you've meet a great person when you can drive for hours just bullshitting and listening to the radio. I'm not talking romance here, pal. I'm talking pure, non-love related, compatability right now. This person could be talking about themselves the whole time, and you don't care because the two of you are just on the same level of understanding. It's unsaid and unnessary to bring it up. Why can't everyone just listen to each other? We all just really want to be heard, right?

You know someone who has a grandparent with a serious medical problem? Or someone who just can't get out of the rut their more recent ex left them in? Yeah, sure you've probably got enough problems of your own to deal with. Why should you listen to someone complain about how bad they feel when you've got enough on your on plate? That's the mindset that sets certain people apart. Talking and listening go hand in hand. To listen to someone means to help another, and usually they return the favor if you relate something from your experience to their topic. Relating will do wonders. Even if it only relates by a sliver. It still makes a difference.


Now, if you feel like you have absolutely no one to even talk about your terrible day at work, or your current argument with your boyfriend or girlfriend, I'm not offering a service, like a dating service. I'm simply offering an ear. I'm not chopping my ear off and sending it to you in the mail. That's surely illegal. I can relate to someone who doesn't have that one person they can talk to about anything. But I also know what it is to have just one person who hears everything. That person that won't get overly creeped out because I just told them I'm feeling bloated or something awkward like that.