"When people think you're dying they listen
instead of waiting for their turn to speak." -Fight Club

If we made new years resolutions in September instead of January, this one would be mine. To listen to people.

Most people, myself sometimes included, can get so caught up in themselves; so caught up in their lives, that they forget that everyone else is just as important. We give ourselves special treatment because we are fully aware of our motives. But if someone else messes up, we jump on them as inconsiderate.
If you speed, and cut someone off in traffic, then you must be in a hurry. It's important.
If someone speeds and cuts you off in traffic, then they are inconsiderate and don't know how to drive.

But it's even more basic than that. It comes down to listening; a skill which few people cultivate. To be able to step back and forget any problems you may have for even ten minutes, and listen with genuine interest to another's problems. That is love, that is compassion. That should be human nature. Most people, when they begin to listen, they are immediatly reminded of a story they have, or a quick answer they have, or one of their own problems. And all they really want to do is tell that one. But the better thing is to look past yourself, your story, your problem, and to find another interesting.

Maybe that is why we write. Because no one can interrupt when you aren't actually speaking.