"A single conversation across the table with a wise man is better than ten years mere study of books."
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
"It was impossible to get a conversation going, everybody was talking too much."
Yogi Berra
I've written before about living alone and how, overall, I'm okay with it. One thing I do miss about living with a roommate, though, is everyday conversation - both the light and the heavy. The things that are said in the in-between moments. The retelling of happenings and the chronicles of goings-on. The meaty stuff that takes time to surface. I miss it all. So much of my life goes by without the notice of anyone but me, and sometimes I feel like that's not healthy.
Eleanor Roosevelt said that "great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people." I think that what people talk about has a lot to do with the amount of time they have for the conversation, as well. It's tough to "go deep" when you're on the clock. Profound observations need time to percolate.
Consider the difference in what you would talk about with a friend you haven't seen in years, one you haven't seen in months, and one whom you see every day. It's often the small things, the minutiae of life, that I find most fascinating, and those details usually don't come up when you're comparing notes on life's big stuff.
I suppose I could always try to revive the idea of the salon, which originated in 16th-century Italy - a social gathering in a private home meant primarily for the purpose of conversation. That would solve part of my problem, but I'd still be missing out on the day-to-day chatter that I often crave.
All I know for sure is that for now, living alone is my lot in life. So maybe, subconsciously, I need this time to listen to my own voice aside from everyone else's so that I can strengthen it enough to speak my own truth. Regardless, my life is what it is and I'm making the best of it. And for one thing I am very lucky - my cat is a very good listener.
Sarah xoxo