Let’s Start Talking Again

Storytelling was our forté.
We sat around with friends & family, reminisced & imagined.
The surprise visitor added magic to the evening.
Children would bargain with their parents to stay up longer because they wanted to tune in on the conversation.
People knew each other.
We visited neighbours when they were in hospital. We welcomed new people on the street. We called on the bereaved to see how they were doing.
We kept an eye on the lonely souls of our community.

I’m not saying that we have stopped all this but in the last couple of decades there has been a significant decline in real & meaningful social connection.

The houses are closer together but the people are further apart.

People need people to talk to; they need people they can open their hearts to; we need people to hold hands & feel strong; we need people who can hold us & let us cry.

I am not talking about a romanticized partner or a bollywoodised friend. I am not even talking about families or counselors. I am just talking about people. Just anyone.

We really do not realize how badly people need a release.
We, as a society, really have no idea how suffocated people are in their emotions.

Most people have nobody to express themselves entirely to. Everyone is holding back their vulnerabilities to maintain the social image of a confident & happy person.

Heart-to-heart conversations have become rare, artificial & shallow.

Most people can’t even talk to their life-partners openly for the fear of being judged or rejected.
Children have bottled up stress. Young people suffer anxiety & depression.

It is just lack of social support & a lack of non-judgmental friendships.

It is the result of fast and busy lives where nobody has time to just sit & watch someone cry.

We have whatsapp, facetime & social media and we have stress, anxiety & depression.

Our forefathers had neither. Because they talked to each other, Because they understood that talking helps.

The face-to-face type talking,
The just-listen-to-me type talking,
The hold-my-hand-and-let-me-cry type talking,
The
sit-next-to-me & listen-to-my-silence type talking,

The talking where the person can be themselves & say anything they feel without the fear of any judgement or loss or rejection.

Today we don’t like that type of talking. Those conversations when someone begins to undress one’s mind, feel awkward. We don’t ever want them. In fact we avoid them. And so, mental illness is becoming an epidemic.

There is not much we can do. But we can offer a listening ear. We can be the people someone can just come over & talk to.
We can be the people someone can just cry in front of.

Let’s be the go-to person for someone. Let’s learn to be friends with the friendless.
Let’s let people talk without any fear. Let’s create conversations.

Come on, let’s start talking again & stay blessed forever.