"Far away there in the sunshine are my highest aspirations. I may not reach them, but I can look up and see their beauty, believe in them, and try to follow where they lead."
Louisa May Alcott
For years , I believed in the being the strong silent type.
Be a man of deeds not just words.
Head down,push forward and most importantly just keep quiet.
That's a real man.
Where did I ever get such a dysfunctional view of life?
Keeping things in, not talking things out is a sure recipe for stress,failure and inertia.
Over the last few years, I have learned that the simple act of having conversation can bring clarity and calm to just about any situation or challenge.
But who should I be talking to?
Who are the people I turn to when I just need to talk?
For better or for worse, many of my daily conversations take place with myself.
I am a pretty good listener!
Often, these chats end up as the foundation for these emails I send to you.
Still as good of a listener as I am, I often find myself at a loss for someone to talk to.
The driver's seat of my bus is not a conducive place to engage in conversation.
My passengers are not exactly the folks I can rely on to lend an ear.
On the rare occasions when I do have time to make a call (of course using my headset)
I find it challenging to come up with who I might want to reach out to.
Hence, I end up talking to myself more often than I would like to.
These conversations aren't about complaining, whining, bitching or obsessing.
I find that talking creates a narrative, a flow ,an opportunity for insight as well as discovery.
For years, I could always count on Becky,whose desk was adjacent to mine.
For 3 or 4 hours daily, I could spew on and on ,knowing full well that the mere act of speaking out loud helped me gain clarity and insight to things that were bottled up inside of me.
Nowadays, much to my chagrin, those conversations, thoughts and ideas just bounce around in the space between my ears.
This is not a good thing.
We all need to have conversations,as many as possible,as often as possible.What's the line from the song?
Oh yeah..........People who need people are the luckiest people in the world!
Shavua Tov!
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