Wednesday Motivational: Listening

I hate macho crap. The aggro, the bluster, the catcalls, the “words are for PUSSAYS” of it all. It’s a gushing blast of testosterone and a complete waste of brain. In a word, blech.

Here’s one thing nobody will ever say about macho types: he was a good listener. Listening requires no outward activity. In fact, you only need two things to be a good listener: pay attention and shut the hell up. Those are conditions I can readily accept, especially if on a couch that allows for lying down. I am definitely more understanding while lounging at full sloth.

I came across this quote from the Dalai Lama: “Shut up and kiss me”. Then I logged off Reddit and found this quote:

When you talk, you are only repeating what you already know. But if you listen, you may learn something new.

Two observations. First, this “talking” being about things you already know, erm… These Wednesday posts are stuff I find constructive and aspirational, not stuff I do on the regular 24 / 7 / 365.25 always because gimme a fucking break I’m an adult with responsibilities and therefore at-stress. Maybe, for intellectual integrity, the posts should be called “Wednesday Aspirational”, but you never court the cokehead demographic and then fail to deliver. Never going down that road again [makes sign of the cross twice].

Plus, tWBS [pours eye drops] created the Motivational. I am happy to continue it and, yes: stepping out of my Neurosis Chamber to think about positive stuff once a week is peachy.

I bet you read “preachy”. Well I’m working on it, k? Anyway, the second thing is

🚨🚧OBVIOUS CRAP ALERT🚧🚨

listening as a way to learn something new. Imma guess that everyone who has ever been employed has heard “listen and you might learn something” in the workplace at least once, perhaps shouted with an invitation to sit down NOW. But it’s absolute, dynamite advice: listening well is absorbing all the information that you can then process and evaluate. Related: do NAWT interrupt constantly with “But”s and shit. It’s common decency to let someone speak; but say to me that Trump is being mistreated by the judicial system and

. Plus I’ll add some nonverbal invective. That’s what the hands are for, my Anglo amigues.

There are things that are not worth anyone’s time, like Qanon or Qaron’s opinions about anything. Not everything is worth listening to, hashtag Obvio. Like the explanations, by QBs or Offensive Coordinators, for consistently passing behind the sticks over and over in 3^rd and 4^th down situations. Those passes are prayers, prayers for the YAC Fairy to materialize and bless a receiver or back with a bailout play. “What can I say, I’m a coward” is how I’ve interpreted some of the explanations.

Smart folks are usually not known for their listening skills. Allow me an irresponsible generalization: intelligent folks are prone to dismiss an idea the instant its internal logic fails. Sometimes, instead of actually processing the information, you are actively looking for flaws because you are smarty smart—unlike, say, all those vocal fans who just loved (loved!1!1) movies like “Everything Everywhere All at Once” and [spits on the floor] “Barbie”. Hey, hey, I’m not putting down anyone; just expressing a personal taste preference against, resp., the multiverse hack and “We are being overtly commercial!” lazy meta- crap that wears out after the second gag.

So yeah. Sometimes you don’t like something, and that’s fine, just fine. If it’s not your bag after getting a taste, why submit yourself to mumblecore or Frank Zappa or Fellini films? It’s wellness stuff; if you have no need or curiosity to engage with certain art or works, who cares what windbag types say about canonical stuffs.

Analytical reasoning and critical thinking, howevah, must require getting informed on opposing views and wrestling with stuff that can get too boring, too dense, too complicated, too dumb, too foreign, too British, too provincial, too far-and-away, too RAYCESS, you name it. Twitter (i.e., the U.N. of all human hatreds), can be useful for identifying common topics in communities different than yours. I’ve followed a lotta accounts (and still do), that are different than, or antagonizing to, my origin, politics, team preference, and lifestyle. It has been an incredibly rich experience for me because–

[Ed. Note:

.] Ok fine. It’s the memes, I follow for the sick memes. Yes BUT: following accounts outside your cultural or social bubble allows you to see what the conversation is in other communities, between the members of those communities, and get some taste of what they think. I’m not a “source?” pedant or anything like that, but Horse’s Mouth is near the top in my Information Pyramid. I mean, psht. Even honest-to-goodness troglodytes can benefit from radically different perspectives and having a quiet listening moment.

John Madden coached those RAAAAAIIIIIII DUUUUUUURS teams of the 70s, and said he only had three rules for his players / visigoths: be on time, pay attention, and play like hell when I tell you to. That’s a great balance, discipline in preparation (including listening), followed by berseker ball. On that note, enjoy almost two minutes of Oakland RAAAAIIIII DUUUUURS Simpsons love. Have a great day.

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