I’ve come to the conclusion from my own personal experience in from watching others around me, that as human beings, we just don’t like silence.

A perfect example of this is to watch somebody as they are driving along the highway. They may be alone in the car, but is sure looks as if they are having one very animated conversation.

It’s easy to see many drivers talking on their phone, singing along with songs, or even talking to themselves. I’ve even noticed a few with their favorite pet sitting in the car next to them- and they are having animated conversations with the animal.

I wonder if anybody really thinks about how they look to the person in the car next to them. I know I’m guilty of doing this myself. I’ll be singing along to a song, totally oblivious to anything going on around me. If I really like the song, then the music is turned up, windows are rolled down, and I’m thoroughly enjoying myself.
Okay, when the music is playing and the windows are rolled down, most people can tell that you’re singing along to a song. But what about those people that are talking to themselves, or at least that’s what you think is happening? There’s no visible phone in their hand, but their hands are moving, their lips are moving a mile a minute and they‘re shaking their head. There’s no one in the car with them and you wondering what’s going on. Then they turn their head slightly and you see at the wireless headphone! They are talking on the phone to somebody. Or, maybe they’re doing like I am right now-using their phone for dictating.

But I think the thing that gets me the most is watching somebody talk to their dog or even their cat while they’re driving. They carry on conversations with these animals as if they were human beings. And let’s face it, to some of us, our pets are more important than some of the human beings around us. The really funny thing is watching the animals. They seem to talk right back to their owners-some might bark, some pant and a few may even howl their answers. As they converse with the driver, the animal may get close, climbing onto laps, so that it looks like they’re actually doing the driving. And all around them traffic is flowing people that take notice are doing a double take to look at them.

So the next time you look at somebody and you’re wondering if they are talking to themselves, singing to the radio, or talking to the animal next to them…

think about how you look when you’re doing the same thing.