the meaning of silence

Seller used to say to me that he never wore a watch because it nagged at him and reminded him that he was late. From this he deduced that all watches were female. This, amongst his many other idiosyncrasies, used to make me laugh.

Women nag. Apparently. Thing is we don't see it that way. To us it's discussing a problem. To us it's opening that discussion. Admittedly, not in the most conducive of ways, but really, generally when you've GOT to talk about something, it really bothers you so you're probably not going to be thinking how conducive your opening words are. It's unacceptable to pretend it never happened and hope it goes away. Women by nature are not Ostriches.

And men complain about this. However if we never nagged then nothing would ever get resolved. Men grumble about it like it's the worst thing in the world.

But it's not.

It's when she's silent that there is a problem. Because when a woman is silent it's because she just doesn't care anymore.

Contrary to what we were taught in primary school, the opposite of love is not hate. The opposite of love is indifference.

For as long as it matters to her to talk it out. For as long as she is trying to understand and to make you understand. For as long as she brings the matter up. That is how long YOU matter. For that period of time your thoughts, actions and feelings matter to her. They have a bearing on how she thinks and feels. They count.

But when she is silent, she has given up on you. When she is silent, it just doesn't matter anymore. When she is silent she has no more expectations of you.

When she is silent, YOU do not matter. She is indifferent.

So yes, the opposite of love is indifference.

Image courtesy of Urban2forest on Flickr!