Cotton Balls and Headphones

Ever get the feeling that people don't really bother to listen to what you're saying, they're just busy trying to think up what they're going to tell you next? Sometimes it seems like people are so busy listening to themselves, they don't want to stop and figure out how the other person thinks. Or maybe they're not even busy with anything at all, but it's too much work to listen, easier to just pretend and ignore.
Sometimes I feel like nobody really cares what I think or how I feel. Either it's because they're too busy, or they just want to come up with reasons why I'm wrong and why I should agree with them, or they're just too concerned with their own business to bother about mine.
Which is fine, I guess. I have no right to demand attention from anyone. Sometimes I just wish there were more people to talk to. But in this world, I guess you have to learn to adapt. I don't need someone else to listen; I have my writing, my lizard, and my cat. When all else fails, one of them will be available. And cats and lizards never tell secrets. Writing... sometimes, it all depends. But if someone finds out what's written it's because it was left where people could easily read it.
People not wanting to listen, I can deal with now. I've come to grips with the fact that sometimes even those who ask for advice really won't listen when you give it to them. It's a sad fact of life, but it's pretty much standard, and I've learned to accept it.
It's people who don't want to understand, who are completely disinterested and only want to look at things from their side, that drive me crazy. I have no right to demand people to understand me -- not many people really can understand me -- but those who just try to tune you out when you say something they don't even want to bother listening to are the ones who drive me crazy. This world is bigger than any of us as individuals. Yet why are we stuck in our own little parts of the Universe, without any interest at all in the well-being and emotional stability of our fellow man?
Because we're greedy, self-centered, and just way too busy. I know. I fit there too, sometimes.
Listening is a necessary part of life. We have to listen, or we're going to make even more mistakes than we would if we started listening to what others have to say.
Listen to others, gather points of view, and then use them to reshape your outlook on life. That's all I can recommend -- I think it's a project worth undertaking. And I am trying. Believe me. I am trying.