She keeps talking and distracting my thoughts, and doesn’t seem to notice the cues I keep dropping to indicate it’s not a good time for chitchat.

My approach has always been indirect when it comes to telling people things they won’t be comfortable hearing. But in my mind, the message sits there, in its crude form: You’re lousy. Shut up.

But how do I say it?

And so, I sit there, turning, shifting, squinting, sighing, feigning interest…and yet she is too absorbed in her ranting to notice. Which makes me wonder if her being overly talkative partly explained why she was still single at her age.

I imagined her with a potential lover, she finishing off his sentences, drawing conclusions from analysis he hasn’t made yet, not giving him room to explain the motives behind his actions, comparing him to others who came before him and how they’re all the same, offering an apology to herself although it was meant for the man. He would have been long gone before she noticed she’s been talking to herself even when he was present.

It’s amazing the people who need advice are the least interested in hearing one.

I take a break from zooming in on her weakness.

What if…what if I worked on my weakness of swallowing uncomfortable truths that need to be coughed up? Perhaps by bracing myself to tell people what no one will tell them in the face, I could be contributing to seeing them become better individuals.

But will they listen?

Maybe my approach too matters. The most resistant rock weathers under the persistent movement of the soft river.

Or, am I obsessed with changing others?