Hajja Salesjana

highs, lows and in-betweens. It is all a blatant result of the glorification of busyness in our culture where to be stressed out or burnt out has become a questionable status symbol! We have Whats App, FaceBook and other social media platforms - and yet we also have stress, anxiety and depression. Our forefathers had neither... because they made time for each other and talked to each other... because talking does help and a lot... The face-to-face type talking, the just- listen-to-me type talking, the sit-next-to- me-and-listen-to-my-silence type talking, the genuinely present and concerned type of talking where one is seen and appreciated... the talking where persons can be themselves and say anything they feel without the fear of any judgment, loss or rejection. Today, we don't like that type of talking! In fact we avoid people. Naturally, this has led to mental illnesses which are becoming an epidemic. Alas, there is not much that we can do but we can surely offer a listening ear! So let's let people talk without any fear. Let's create conversations. Let's start talking again... We, as a society, really have no idea how suffocated people are in their emotions. Most people have 'nobody' to express themselves entirely to. Everyone is holding back their vulnerabilities to maintain the social image of a confident and happy person. Heart-to-heart conversations have become rare, artificial and shallow. Most hearts are filled with empty defences. Most people can't even talk to their life-partners (or community members) openly for the fear of being judged or rejected. Emotions await just a release. The social images with which we are constantly bombarded make sure that weakness is not glorified. Children have bottled up stress. Young people suffer from anxiety and depression. It is just lack of social support. It is a lack of non-judgmental friendships. It is a result of fast and busy lives where nobody has time to just sit and watch someone cry. It is a result of instant and impatient lifestyle practices, that emotions have started feeling like a waste of time. Everybody seems to be rushing here and there and missing those who are journeying with him through life’s Photo by Priscilla Du Preez - Unsplash.com Let’s Talk Again Photo by Steven Coffey - Unsplash.com Photo by Kelly Sikkema - Unsplash.com 26 Lulju-Settembru 2023 hajja