I’m listening

I have/did have poor eyesight but it wasn’t diagnosed until I was about 8 or 9. So until that age, while my peers were learning all about facial nuances, I would only pick up on gross clues. This made me tune into vocalised intonation more closely. I have retained this heightened awareness of words and tone rather than the overall delivery.

While the experts pontificate that a large percentage of verbal communication is non-verbal I tend to miss the non-verbal clues. It is a weakness that I am aware of but it is also an extra layer of insulation for my delicate nature.

When I listen to music I can’t ignore the vocals. The lyrics and delivery of them dominate my listening. Songs that my musician friends would ignore I may love. Pink Floyd’s, The Great Gig In The Sky, from dark side of the moon is not a good example (great musically and vocal performance) but if you know the song you will get my point. For me the female vocalist delivers perfect meaning and a story using two words repeatedly; ooh and ah. It moves me deeply. Another example might be two versions of the same song, say flame trees by Cold Chisel – fair , flame trees by Sarah Blasco – brilliant.

I wonder what it would have been like to have good eye sight when I was young. What differences would it have made to me. What did I miss out on before I got glasses? What did I miss out on once I had them? I know that I would have missed out on having LASIK corrective eye surgery a few years ago (and that would have been a good thing). Would I have still been a geek? If I wasn’t would I have ended up doing some crappy job?

One thing I do know is I am here now and that is fine with me.