When I saw the above picture on Facebook, I deeply connected with it and began reflecting on it. I have this same love for intellectual conversations, too. In such a life filled with busyness and distractions, it's hard to find time to just sit down and talk to one another about what really matters in life, but we all really need to find the time to do this. Intellectual conversations are fascinating, healing, and make you question your beliefs in a very stimulating way. You don't have to have a P.H.D. or be super smart in order to have an intellectual conversation; all you need to do is rid yourself of life's distractions for a while and focus, focus only on the people around you and the conversation.
In today's world, we are always surrounded by distractions: TV, Internet, smart phones, movies, etc... While these distractions can be fun, they are also harmful. They dissolve true human interactions, taking us away from reality. We get so caught up in the artificial, technological world that we don't even pay attention to the real world after a while. One instance that really brought this idea to my attention occurred when I was on my way to class at the university. Walking down the hallway, there were a bunch of people sitting on the floor outside of the classrooms, waiting for the room to open up...if you could even call them people; they were more like robots. Every single person--and no exaggeration here at all--every single person was staring into a screen: their phone, a laptop, or their tablet. I often feel out of place in this technological world because I don't own a smart phone, but I'm glad that I don't own one. It's nice to escape technology for a while. And that's where intellectual conversations come in...
Instead of sitting around on the couch, staring into screens, we should all engage in intellectual conversation. It would be much more interesting and more worthwhile, and much more real. I mean, talking with real people? You can't beat that! Though I am really shy and suck at conversation, I appreciate and love intellectual conversation. If you get me going on a conversation about philosophy, existential ideas, and/or the Universe, I may not talk excessively (at least at first), but I will definitely be enjoying it. I'm more of a listener than a talker. I find listening to others' ideas, and then mulling over those ideas in my head, to be a quite valuable and interesting endeavor. I am a very open-minded individual and absolutely adore learning new beliefs, ideas, and concepts that I'd never considered before. I don't judge; I believe that all people are welcome to have their own beliefs and ideas, and I really love that there are so many different beliefs and ideas to constantly discover. That's what makes intellectual conversations so amazing: it's always fresh and new. You question what you believe in, communicate what you believe in, and learn something new along the way.
So, instead of sitting on the couch and watching TV or staring into your phone, strike up an intellectual conversation with someone tonight. You'll be so glad that you did. :)
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