Even the unlikeliest people can change our perspectives. If only we’d listen.
Found this on Pinterest – Sylvia Plath has a way with words. Could there be a better way of saying it?
National Blog Posting Month – #Day16
If Only…
Published
Even the unlikeliest people can change our perspectives. If only we’d listen.
Found this on Pinterest – Sylvia Plath has a way with words. Could there be a better way of saying it?
National Blog Posting Month – #Day16
The Chaos Within 
Sylvia Plath did indeed have a way with words… and other things. So did Ted Hughes.
I recall being very affected by reading The Bell Jar. It made me, above everything else it stirred, realise how selfish I was being.
Quotes likes this, taken on their own, without the context in which they were written and perhaps meant, always provoke thought, self-reflective and other-reflective thought, such as… this person who would open up and unfold wonderfully if we were interested in them… are they interested in us, in our opening up and unfolding? Or are they only interested in others being interested in them, their opening up and infolding which is why they are shut up tight inside themselves in the first place? Their unfolding is wonderful… what is the status of our unfolding to them?
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Now that’s a question to think about…
I guess this quote depends on who’s side you’re looking at it from.
What of the one person who’s always there for others; who’d listen, and observe in silence… what goes on in their minds? I’d like to think of this quote as dedicated to those people; they’d have insights that unfold so beautifully – if we’d listen to what they have to say, perhaps they could show us a different – and sometimes better – point of view. Instead of always doing the talking, maybe we should listen more. Besides, the listener might also want to express his/her opinion.
Thanks for the thought-provoking comment, Ursula. Have a great day!
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Yes! The quote read as it is is also very true, and that truth is one to which I think many can relate. It is one to which I can relate. But when you’re one of those who always listens and never speaks, perhaps waiting for someone else to notice… what if no one notices or they notice but don’t know how to open you up? Or they try but you remain in your comfort zone of the silent listener. Do you stay silent, always listening to others, waiting for one of those others to open you up, or do you decide that perhaps you need to speak and open yourself up, make the first move instead of waiting for someone else to do it, after all, all that listening should have revealed certain things about the nature of self expression.
You have a thought-provoking blog, it is a silent listener’s haven of expression :)
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Yes, I agree.
Like you said, I’ve been in situations where I’ve waited for someone to notice… one small indication that they’d want to hear me out. I interpreted that quote in a way I could relate to, because for me, it’s difficult to take the first step move and express myself – perhaps it has a correlation with introversion.
Thank you so much Ursula, for the insights and that lovely compliment. :)
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