Talking

“Socrates was considered wise not because he had all the answers, but he knew how to ask the right questions.”  I love that.
I have been reading an article on the mind.  How it is a muscle.  A lack of exercise causes it to become flabby and slack.  Things that strengthen the mind were things like read, talk and write.  The quote was in the section on talking.  He was saying that it is better to ask “why” and “how”, rather than “what” and “when” questions. 
By nature, I am a quiet person.  I can at times talk and talk but mostly I do not.  I think I am a fairly good listener and I find asking questions can get someone else talking profusely.  They say the easiest way to get someone talking is to get them talking about themselves.  That works a treat.
I was looking at some Facebook posts and it was obvious to me some people are really closed.  What they have to say is from a venom perspective.  Engaging them in conversation can only at that time be an enriching experience for one.  I know I have prejudices to.  I like to think they are built on openness and I can change a point of view.  For me that can happen through a number of means, but it is often reading, talking or writing.
There are huge gaps in what I know.  I have so much to learn.  I may be wrong, but I think a person can only learn if they are open.  I know that whenever I have officially studied, I needed to be open to new ideas to learn anything.  Being closed was a recipe for failure.  Failure was never my goal when studying.  Failure did happen, but for other reasons.
Guys are not renowned talkers.  I know I often nod my head and answer yes or no when dialogue is called for.  I need to be careful that guys reputation do not alone determine my talkativeness.  Sometimes things need to be discussed.  Often that is a walk on water thing, but thankfully it does get easier the more it is done.
I know I will never learn anything if I only listen to talk rather than listen to hear.  If I do not talk and listen, I often think to myself  “what is the point of that?”  A plant only grows when it takes in water and converts it to what it needs.  I only grow when I take in what people are saying and convert it to what I need.
I am not big on talking.  I am though big on listening.  There is still plenty of time to get the balance right.  After all, I am only 61.