4:44 PM

I recently started listening more to people than speaking. I realized people do have fun stories to narrate. But most of them live in their past. They tell me about their past — how was their childhood, their first love, school days, and summer vacations. But I want to know who they are now, who they are sitting in front of me. They nowhere tell about these things. But one can still tell just by listening to them. Just look at them when they speak — how their body calms, how their body stiffs, how their hands move, how they breathe, where they hesitate, where their eyes brighten up, where their smile falls, where their voice is the loudest, where it's mellow, where they sigh, and where they smile the most.

I realized the worst you can say while consoling someone is, "Don't cry, please."

And the best you can say is not to utter anything.

When they cried amidst their stories, I just watched them.

Because I am really bad at consoling.

I knew if I started consoling, we would then need a third person to console both of us.

So it's better not to say much or anything at all.

People have so much to say as if they were just waiting for that one opportunity to speak — but maybe they never got.

I also realized people judge themselves before anybody else could. So silly it is, but we all do this.

People want to surrender in love but still hold onto it so tightly, trying not to get hurt. But that’s when they get hurt the most.

To say all of it is too tough, but people just want to tell what made them who they are today. So they leave clues — from their favorite childhood memory to how they suck at their job. They keep telling about who they are and why they are who they are today. So don't take it lightly when someone tells about them. Listen closely.

If you ever want to know about someone, let them speak. They will always tell about themselves without even knowing. That's how we, humans, are.

Don't regret sharing your stories.

But if you feel judged,

Say it's a story of one of your friends.

This way you can tell and still not tell.

At the end of the day,

Nobody really remembers your stories.

And those who really do —

They might become your closest people.

At least that's how I think.

But I don’t guarantee its validity.

Because I am still learning.

So don’t follow my lines.

Because they change often.