Your attention please...

I find it very frustrating when someone I am speaking with isn't listening. Like there is something more important they can be doing, and they are really just being kind by not actually walking away! It's been a pet hate of mine for i-don't-know how long... and although it doesn't happen regularly - I notice it enough in conversations for it to bug me... I certainly recognise that small talk happens a lot, and that can be really boring - I also recognise that some conversations are going to be challenging no matter what..., but when is it ok for me to decide that this person speaking to me isn't worth my time? There's a lot to take into account, probable exceptions, but in general - I'm of the opinion that no one, no matter who they are, deserves any less than our full, interested, attention... This can be hard work at times, as I think most people are in conversations for themselves... ie we politely wait until the other person has stopped so we can say our bit... I find it refreshing when I talk to someone who just wants to listen to you...

I was listening to the news the other day and the reporter asked some teenage girl what she thought of our polititians - she replied that they didn't know what they were doing because they weren't young.... Interesting! She's never been old, they have been young, but absolutely no respect for that whatever... This is my other pet hate - unfounded confidence. I saw a 92yr old patient last night who chatted to me with such humility that it moved me. How often we think we have the answer to everything. This lovely old lady asked me about my family, genuinely interested. I told her, and asked a little of her history. She has 8 kids, loads of grand and great grandkids, and her advice (on my asking) was to accept what we don't know and to enjoy every step.

It's easy to talk to people we like. It's easy to talk about ourselves. It's easy to convince ourselves that we know what is best for us... after all, this is the "me" generation...