It has been said that there is something like 6 original plot lines in existance and that every story is just a modification of one of those. Yet, even with this knowledge, humans continue to “create” “new” stories and share their experiences as though no one else on earth has ever been through exactly the same thing. We have a need to interact; we are social beings. We, therefore, attempt to interact. And while we may be able to achieve the simplicities of socializing, we often fail to actually communicate.

“When people think youre dying they really listen instead of just waiting for their turn to talk.” That, ladies and gentlemen, is how we conduct ourselves on a regular basis. Just as essential to the communication process as speaking is listening. One person talks, the other listens and responds. That is the cycle. Thing is, none of us care what the other person has to say. We interrupt, or are restraining from interrupting, while eagerly ignoring what our partner has to say. At the same time, we think that they will find what we have to say terribly interresting. We expect them to hang on our every word. Unfortunately, they, too, are simply waiting for the next opportunity to open their mouths.

Why do we feel that we are so important? Why even bother to engage in socializing when you know that you arent really paying attention? Why bother to put ideas out there when no one really cares about your attempted originality, but only their own advancement? Speak not to be heard, but rather to entertain yourself. It doesnt matter if anyone hears you since, most likely, theyre not interrested in what you have to say anyway. Write to read your own words, sing to hear your own voice, play to feel your own movements. Only when you are truly happy to be in your own mind will others want to enter. Funny thing about that is: once youve built your own playground, the company of playmates doesnt matter much. Even funnier: the more they know you dont need them, the harder they try to get in. Nothing gathers an audience quicker than a well-guarded secret.