Don't tell my wife, but sometimes I do pay attention to what other people say.
One thing I really notice is how people identify others in their conversation. For instance, they'll say "this guy I went to school with" or "this lady I work with" or "someone in my Sunday school class." Very rarely do they say "my friend who..." I'm just as guilty as the next person.
I often wonder why. Do we not have friends any more? Maybe we presume it's a given we are friends since we're talking about them. I don't know.
Maybe we live in such a fast-paced world we don't take the time it takes to actually get to know someone. Think about it. When's the last time you had a conversation with someone (besides your significant other) which lasted longer than 5 minutes? Did you start feeling uncomfortable after a few minutes because you wondered what you were going to talk about? Or, did you just walk away and/or start talking to someone else to avoid that feeling?
Sometimes I worry the art of conversation is dying. Some of my best memories growing up involve just sitting around listening to people tell stories. Not just the two or three sentence stories you mostly hear today, but stories that actually took 5 - 10 minutes to tell. Now, I often find myself wondering when someone is going to get to the point. Shame on me.
Funny how we seem to communicate less with each other nowadays despite having more ways to communicate.
Hmmm.... I've always felt odd when I tell stories and always start out saying, "My friend....." maybe I'm the last one to do it! I like to consider lots of people my friends.... I guess I won't feel funny anymore about saying it!
ReplyDeleteA neighbor and I went to an event together. Once we got there, I introduced her to other people I knew at the event as "my friend". When we left, she thanked me for introducing her as my friend rather than as my neighbor. I really hadn't thought anything about it at the time, but I do now.
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