Noise surrounds us from the time we wake up to the time we fall back asleep again. The constant shuffle of our playlists, the talk show of our morning commute, the lunch hour news, the afternoon cartoons, the primetime television, and the late night comedy shows clutter our ears with soundwaves.
Yet, this is just the background. On top of it is the constant prattle of gossip, break room small talk, business exchanges, angry expletives shouted during rush hour, too long business meetings, too short coffee dates, too preachy sermons delivered from close friends and unsolicited advice from casual acquaintances. Messages light up our phone screens; our computers ding with the announcement of yet another incoming email; the Facebook news feed cannot be refreshed fast enough.
Through blogs, vlogs, Youtube, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Tumblir, Buzzfeed News and even The Odyssey, people holler, with both good and ill intentions, their opinions, ideas and life updates.
We are now living in a world where it is easier than ever for information and news to be transferred. There are so many mediums to share and gain insight from other people's point of view. This is the amazing world in which we live. But for living in a world where there are so many ways for which to express ones opinion and be heard, I think, in a different sort of way, nobody is really being heard.
Yes, we all have political, social and religious ideas that we want to share. We want to change the world with our gleaming ideals. We want to make a difference. And in one way, social media and technology has made this easier.
But we also want someone to care about how our day is going. We want more affirmation than a like on Facebook or retweet on Twitter. We want someone to look in our eyes and empathize with our pain.
We want the kind smile of a stranger in the grocery store and the friendly wave of an unknown neighbor.
We want people to acknowledge our existence: a moment of eye contact and a head nod as if saying, "yes, I recognize that you exist; that you are visible; that you are a person." And this particular need to be heard is getting lost in the noise of our media saturated world.
So how do we become heard when we are trying to compete with the flashier, noisier and more entertaining facet of media? We start by becoming listeners.
We tune out of all the noise causing agents in our life, and tune in to the person we are keeping company with. It is about being present in the moment.
We give this person our undivided attention. This means no background noise, not even the distracting thoughts in our head.
We give this person priority. So maybe they are just the cashier you see on Fridays during grocery shopping. Or maybe it's the person who works the drive thru window. It could be your mom, husband, girl friend, sister or distant cousin. But in that moment, they become your priority.
It is about actually caring when you ask, "How are you today?". And if someone isn't having a good day, it is caring enough to ask why and to listen. It could be your best friend, your boss or the stranger in the doughnut shop, but they all are dying to be heard.
Life is hectic, and everybody is busy. I'm not suggesting that we need to spend an hour everyday talking to our local fast food employees. In fact, they may not be entirely appreciative given that they are at work. But we all have time to stop and give someone five minutes of an unbiased and loving ear. We all have time to share a genuine laugh, a golden smile, a gentle hug and an open ear.
And once everyone starts to listen, then we will all begin to be heard, even over the chaos of our noise-charged world.
