Everybody talks

So the Neon Trees have this awesome song, Everybody Talks, with a kind of weird music video.

It started with a whisper

I'm a big fan of quietude (I'm also a fan of how awesome that word is!) I got to go camping a lot when I was a boy scout. Because I grew up right on the northern edge of Phoenix, that meant most of our camping trips involved heading up further north towards the mountains. Camping has so many wonderful facets that I enjoy, but I would have to say that high up on my list is the beautiful tranquility of nature. Don't get me wrong, I am most definitely a city-boy at heart. I love a crowded, bustling downtown; a prolific arts scene; a variety of shopping outlets. BUT, I feel like it can sometimes get overwhelming. All the noise, all the lights and the action and go-go-going can distract and drain me. When was the last time you felt the need to whisper? When was the last time you would have been able to hear someone if they had whispered to you?

The irony isn't lost on me that Tyler Glenn belts this line at the start of every chorus. The progression after it is what I think is most interesting, though. After "it started with a whisper", he jumps right next to "that was when I kissed her" and an unfortunate result: "then she made my lips hurt." I've made this disclaimer before, but I'm old-fashioned in a lot of ways. I think that one of the reasons things go sour in so many relationships is the breakneck pace which seems to be everywhere. When there's instant gratification everywhere, when you have to yell to be heard over the rush of the world, there just isn't any time for a whisper. Really communicating is becoming a lost art, and that lack of foundation can be masked for a while with physicality, but that just really isn't what lasts. It's way too easy for someone to get hurt in the world of relationships where the opposite is supposed to be the case.

It's true that everybody talks. I think we're in a time when it's amazingly easy for me to send you a text, or call you, or message you on facebook, or heytell you, or email you, or send you a snapchat, or, or, or... But what is it that I'm talking about? I go through so much communication in a day, but often I look back on a conversation or message and think, "wow. That was kind of empty." I'm making it a goal to try and say things with more meaning more often. It's true:

I never thought I'd live to see the day

when everybody's words got in the way