I was driving the other day and, while waiting at a red light, found myself behind an average looking car. By the time the light turned green I had surmised that the vehicle belonged to a divorced (or widowed) dad with two sons, a daughter, and a dog, based on the stick figures in the back window. And it got me to thinking (I don’t know about you, but I do some of my best thinking in the car), that here was a guy who I have never met, who I will probably never see again, and I can tell you how many family members he has…why?

It seems to be part of a bigger shift in things….from “tell me about you” to “let me tell you about me!” We have Facebook, we have decals for our cars, we have blogs, we have Pinterest, we have Twitter… all ways to tell people about US without ever really having to listen to anything about anyone else unless we make a conscious decision to do so.

We can create our own (pseudo)celebrity status with our Twitter followers, imagining them hanging on our every word. We have proof of our popularity with the volume of Facebook friends. Heck, on Pinterest we don’t even really have to be bothered with anyone else’s stuff, we can just revel in our own world waiting for others to come discover and agree with our picks.

And I know you have been pacing the floor wondering what I’m having for dinner! Luckily I can snap a pic and have it on my profile before the waiter has left the table!

Welcome to Planet Beth where I can delete anyone who ruffles my feathers! Wow did I need this in grade school….a delete button for every day life!

But…and there’s always a but, isn’t there? How big is my world, really, when it’s all about me? How much do I miss because I simply don’t take the time to stop and listen? When I ask how you are, do I really want to know? Or do I want you to hurry and stop talking so I can tell you how I am?

I have never been big on New Years resolutions, but since it’s January, what the heck, let’s go with it…this year I would like to be a better listener. This year I would like to learn something about YOU every day, something I didn’t know before. This year, I would like to be more open to new ideas and to be more teachable.

When I see you, or meet you for the first time, I hope I can say “hi there, nice to meet you! Please, tell me about YOU” instead of “wow, great to meet you, now let me tell you about ME!!!!” Who knows, I might be able to reconfigure “Planet Beth” into a multi-person environment!

Anyone out there want to come along for the ride? Let’s make 2013 the year of the listener, and see what happens…