Listen!!

 Huh, ok...I am as guilty as charged on this topic. I have never listened to anything. I don't mean only in terms of taking advice, but in general, listen to anything anyone is saying (weathers it is a conversation with a friend, a dialogue, the lyrics of a song, etc). I have never given full attention to it and most times I start thinking on how to respond. My extrovert self pushes me to catch onto something I can relate to and respond with a story. Thanks to my heightened senses off late, I have started to listen more. I still talk a lot but you can make out a difference.

Some of the songs that I used to just listen, makes completely different sense to me. Even the beats, tempo, pictures, etc say lot more than what I saw before.

Like the one from Rocket Singh - Pankhon Ko has 'Uljhe nahi toh kaise suljhoge, Bikhre nahi to kaise nihkroge' which is such a different way of looking at life. It is not all doom and broken self can be a good thing. You can rebuild in the way you want without the baggage of the past 🙌

Or Gully Boy - Ek Hee Raasta 'Apne saare janam chalte hai, Sar jhukaye huye band aankhein kiye aur yeh dukh liye, Mod jo dekha tha uspe mudd jaate hum, Toh najaane kahan tak pahunch paate hum'. How many of us regret not taking a chance on something and think about it for the rest of our life. 

Baaluvantha Hoove - 'Baala Kadanadalli Baravasegalu Beku, Naale Nannadennuva Nambikegalu Beku', 'Illi Eesabeku Iddu Jayisabeku'. How important are belief and self-love 💗

'Imagine there's no countries, It isn't hard to do, Nothing to kill or die for And no religion, too. Imagine all the people, Livin' life in peace. You may say I'm a dreamer, But I'm not the only one'. Given the current world, can you just imagine this 😥

Same with the conversations I have with people. I feel I can finally hear them. 

When a close friend sits next to me without interacting, just be silent. I understand he is going through something and just needs me to be around without saying a word. The silence speaks more and gives him the strength to face what is happening or open up about it.

When one of my colleague resigned, I did not get angry but heard it was her 'family' who decided for her. Something I have learned cannot be influenced by me. It did annoy me but at the end of the day, she has to do what works for her.

I am also understanding when to be tough and not put on a nice guy face all the time. No longer a crowd-pleaser I guess 😈

When someone is annoyed or angry, I am able to try and read between the lines (have a long way to go and get better) to see what is causing this grief. I'm ok to have those difficult conversations and be vulnerable.

Listening is so liberating (and overwhelming at times), to make sense of things and not just keep talking. More than anyone else, I want to listen to myself which is a first. If you see the writing, there are many I's which indicates I'm not hiding behind some generic shit anymore 😜

Cheers to listening, from our heart with no preconceived notions about anything. As Annavaru said, 'Ninna Haladhi Kannali Janaraneke Nee Noduve, Manada Donku Kaanade Jagavaneke Nee Dooruve'.

There are thousands of songs, millions of conversations I want to have again with my newfound superpower, LISTENING!