I love meaningful, one-on-one conversations. All the stuff that enters most exchanges I’m in (feeling rushed to speak, trying to get my points across before someone interrupts me, being ignored, etc) are absent in these wonderful conversations. Instead, we both create and hold plenty of space in which we can talk freely. I’ll usually start out by listening intently (which that I avoid thinking of a response while they talk) to the other person as they speak from their heart; then, in their own time, they’ll give me room to speak and it becomes their turn to listen. Nothing feels forced or unnatural, and neither of us impose anything on each other.
There’s something magical about hearing someone say things I’ve always felt deep down but never mentioned to them and generally have trouble putting into words. Whenever someone gets me in this way, I feel incredibly connected to them. It’s always amazing to discover that someone sees things similarly to me since a lot of my major interests don’t tend to come up in normal discussions. Even though I talk about a lot of big things on my blog, not everyone reads it, which makes it even more awesome when someone has separately acquired similar interests and shows me that I’m not alone.
I always learn a lot about whoever I’m talking to during a deep conversation. It feels like everything else is swept away so that we can focus on each other during our time together. These kinds of conversations are rare, and I’m ok with that. As much as I love them, they can tire me out. Plus I never try to make a deep conversation occur; sometimes I have one within a short period of time after meeting someone and other times several years go by before it occurs. Either way, it always happens naturally and at the right place, at the right time, and with the right people. I’ve had several of these conversations as of late and I’m extremely grateful for that. They’re always a wonderful experience and I appreciate them whenever they occur.