"blame me when the twilight comes"

Briggs tells another story about a man he refers to as Hope and Courage, named Kevin Berthia. On March 11, 2005, he responded to a call. He listened for an hour and a half as Berthia spoke of his hopelessness and depression. “After that,” says Briggs, “Kevin decided on his own to come back over that rail and give life another chance” Briggs congratulated him, but also asked, “What was it that made you decide?” The answer was, “You listened. You let me speak, and you just listened.” - TED Blog, Hope on the Golden Gate Bridge: Sergeant Kevin Briggs at TED 2014, posted by Ben Lilie. Click here for the complete talk! -

{ Specially these days when everyone has too much to say about the upcoming Indonesian presidential election and their choosing of holier-than-thou candidate... } people are celebrating their rights to speak up. Everywhere, every person sanctifies the freedom to speak about anything. Which is good. Except at the same time, most just abandon the other side of the bargain; to listen.

One might feel so intellectual for having the most to say about everything, for having the sharpest tongue. "Cool". What's harder to find than the smartest wise ass in the room is someone who is not just waiting for their turn again, someone who would listen, who would actually listen, who would genuinely gives a fuck about what might be crucial on other people's side of reality.

Am not asking anyone to listen, but am trying to actually listen better.

*playing: You and Me - Damon Albarn