People are the most interesting creatures on this planet. No matter where one lives it quickly becomes obvious everyone has a story.
The dining room of this hotel is a hotbed of interesting stories. Antics of staff provide daily, well weekly at least, entertainment. I eagerly await an early morning visit from some of my fellow workers, and the latest gossip makes for a fascinating start to the day.
Guests, who stay a night or two, tend to treat us as a willing ear to their life story. Knowing the possibilities of running across each other in the future allows a certain degree of confidence that would otherwise be dismissed with a closer friend. How long a couple have been together, not necessarily in a marital state, is divulged in confidence while the male of the couple is out of the room. This morning a lovely lady confided to me her man's previous relationship. If half of it was true there is a novel in it; if it was all true, and I suspect she had not exaggerated one iota, then it was a shocker!
There are some folks who never hear little confidences … they are too busy being the confider. Personally I find listening much more interesting than telling, especially if what one is hearing is eyebrow-raising material. To find out about other folks simply means one puts aside any thought of work, or essential commitments, and take a moment to sit down and, after uttering a few discreet queries, simply listen. Seldom does one have to divulge information about oneself, though I have found a few insignificant personal jewels do tend to open the flood gates of confidences given. It isn't as though these conversations can be called gossip, as frequently those doing the talking need a listening ear. They need someone who they can unload worries and problems on, and if the chosen confidant is unknown but sympathetic, then the result is probably considerably better than bottling up tensions.
Hearing such confidences brings a sense of fulfillment to the listener … understanding our fellow human beings allows us to understand ourselves, our personal foibles, and hopefully just by listening to some-one unburdening themselves, a two-way relationship between previously unknown people is established. Not necessarily a friendship, but an over-riding connection that adds joy to the warp and weft of life.
The dining room of this hotel is a hotbed of interesting stories. Antics of staff provide daily, well weekly at least, entertainment. I eagerly await an early morning visit from some of my fellow workers, and the latest gossip makes for a fascinating start to the day.
Guests, who stay a night or two, tend to treat us as a willing ear to their life story. Knowing the possibilities of running across each other in the future allows a certain degree of confidence that would otherwise be dismissed with a closer friend. How long a couple have been together, not necessarily in a marital state, is divulged in confidence while the male of the couple is out of the room. This morning a lovely lady confided to me her man's previous relationship. If half of it was true there is a novel in it; if it was all true, and I suspect she had not exaggerated one iota, then it was a shocker!
There are some folks who never hear little confidences … they are too busy being the confider. Personally I find listening much more interesting than telling, especially if what one is hearing is eyebrow-raising material. To find out about other folks simply means one puts aside any thought of work, or essential commitments, and take a moment to sit down and, after uttering a few discreet queries, simply listen. Seldom does one have to divulge information about oneself, though I have found a few insignificant personal jewels do tend to open the flood gates of confidences given. It isn't as though these conversations can be called gossip, as frequently those doing the talking need a listening ear. They need someone who they can unload worries and problems on, and if the chosen confidant is unknown but sympathetic, then the result is probably considerably better than bottling up tensions.
Hearing such confidences brings a sense of fulfillment to the listener … understanding our fellow human beings allows us to understand ourselves, our personal foibles, and hopefully just by listening to some-one unburdening themselves, a two-way relationship between previously unknown people is established. Not necessarily a friendship, but an over-riding connection that adds joy to the warp and weft of life.
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