I've found that the term "comfortable silence" is almost dead in my generation and the following ones. There seems to be an extreme shortage of people who understand the joys of just being around someone that cares for you, and that you care for. It irritates me to the point of just not wanting to be around anyone when people feel the need to chatter about random, inconsequential things just to fill the silence. I personally don't care HOW big Becky's butt is. If Becky is happy with her butt then of what importance is it to me, and if she's not happy with her butt well then maybe I can share some tips or support with her but it's not my place to confront her and offer it to her. Absolutely not at all. If Stacy and Jim want to date Bobby or Bonnie as well as each other, well fan-freaking-tastic for them, I hope they're happy in their little love bundle.
There are people who would, and do, blast me because I don't like to watch the new and, most often, I don't read the newspaper either. It's not that I don't care what's going on in the world, or that I want to bury my head in the sand and pretend that life is sunshine and rainbows, because I know it's not. All to often the reeking gruesome beast that is the society we live in bursts right through my proverbial front door and vomits it's fuckery all over my life, and the lives of those close to me. However, said bursts have only served to make me appreciate the quiet times, the times spent laying with my best friend while she watched TV or played a game and I read my book or surfed the web, and the times I have alone pondering everything from the meaning of life to what I want for supper, and the times spent with family both by blood and by bond drunkenly playing board games, or watching a movie, or even babysitting my annoying nieces and nephews. I've even learned to appreciate heartbreak. Every broken heart I've ever had has taught me something, and I'm not referring to bitterness, or jealousy, or hatred. For example, I have come to the point where I am actually thankful for the agony that my most recent relationship put me through. She taught me patience, that if it is worth having, it is truly worth waiting for. The hottest fires burn the quickest, and if you can't find fuel fast enough, they die. That isn't saying that feeling fire for someone is a bad thing, but fire is not all that is required. Love requires friendship, trust, respect, and lots and lots of hard work.
I have a challenge for anyone that might read this. I challenge you to enjoy a comfortable silence, to sit back, watch the wind blow in the trees, watch waves break on the sand, stare out over whatever land or cityscape might be afforded to you at the time being, let your mind wander even if the direction is heads in is scary or unpleasant, chances are if that's where your mind is drawn, then there is unresolved business there. Grab your closest friend, or maybe a stranger, and just sit down with a cup of coffee and talk about something you both enjoy, go try something you've never tried before. Turn off the news, shut out the voices telling you that you "can't" do something, and go try. Go live.
