If I could pick one statue to epitomize my existence, I'd want it to be the "Listener". Because despite what I do for a living, when I'm not getting paid to talk, listening to someone else talk for a change, and people-watching, are two of my favorite things to do. I think that's why I like to travel so much.
You can learn a lot about someone by watching them talk. Watch their facial expressions, watch their eye movement and watch their gestures. Now turn it up a notch and listen to how they say their words and observe how they choose the words they use. You can sum a person up pretty good if you master these skills. Secretly I play this game all the time. I call it "Tia's amateur attempt at profiling". It's silly, but in my head, I'm having a blast!
Listening also puts life into perspective sometimes. Yesterday I was riding the subway in Toronto. As I stepped onto the train, I saw this guy sitting there reading his paper. He didn't appear to be Mr.Chatty Catty (not many on the subway are). But within 2 minutes of sitting down beside him, he flashed me a smile and went onto school me on the workings of the TTC. I didn't tell him I wasn't from Toronto, didn't let on that I didn't know toot sweet about the TTC or care for that matter, but just acknowledged his musings and let him talk. I didn't walk away from that conversation with much to help me in life, but it made me smile to think this guy put all his TTC rumblings out to a stranger who cared enough to listen. I bet he felt better about his day. I know I did. Good deed done Tia.
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