Who’s listening?

Do you talk to yourself?

I mean do you talk to yourself out loud? And I don’t mean that internal dialogue we all do, but a real, full voice conversation with yourself.

I’ve been watching what I do during a normal day at home or in the car between clients. Yes, I yell at other drivers…please don’t judge me, it’s therapeutic. When I’m by myself I tend it be pretty quiet except for a few whispers. I’m most vocal when I’m writing. I write and then read out loud. I talk my way through my work.

This past weekend I spent a great many hours with a dog named Sadie and a cat named Massie. Just the three of us in a huge house. Oddly enough we spent the entire time together. If I happened to move to a different room the gang would come with me.

I also spent the whole time talking with the two of them. The chatter did not stop. And weirdly enough I think both Sadie and Massie were active partners in the dialogue. Whether a wagging tail, a bark, a head bump or just choosing to sit on my computer keyboard, Sadie and Massie added to the conversation. They seemed very vocal in their own way and made their opinions known.

This made me wonder if all people living with animals spend their entire time talking to them. I know I talked to my two cats and budgie, but I now wonder if that’s the norm.

Do you talk to your pet? Is it a constant stream of thoughts, questions, and maybe even answers?

I don’t think I would have chatted as much this weekend if another person had been there. Or maybe we are just more vocal when the listener can’t use words to answer back.

We all want someone to hear us.

And even more important, we want someone to care about what we’re saying.

Who’s listening to you?

 

 

7 replies
  1. Deb
    Deb says:

    Maybe we’re also more vocal with animals than people because we don’t feel judged by them so don’t have to filter what we’re saying. We can just think out loud and say anything that comes to mind.

    Reply
  2. Regan d'Andrade
    Regan d'Andrade says:

    I talk to my cats constantly, both telepathically and out loud. And they most certainly respond. Love this piece Tricia.

    Reply
  3. Brenda J. Butler
    Brenda J. Butler says:

    We had a dog named Sadie when we were kids.

    Sometimes I talk to myself out loud, when I’m by myself and sometimes when people are around (today, I did it at the office briefly). My co-worker also talked to himself for a short bit – maybe that was an offensive move, to get me to shut up. Who knows? It did work.

    I am conscious that my smartphone is listening though, and when I go through a talking-to-myself phase I work on squashing it : -(

    Reply

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