The Right To Be Heard

“Oh…You just won’t listen, that’s all.” Dorothy Gale, The Wizard of Oz

Have you ever asked yourself something like “Why won’t anybody listen to me?”  Maybe you feel like no one hears what you’re trying to say.  That feeling breeds frustration which can turn into depression as you begin to wonder if anybody even cares.  Regardless of who we are, none of us wants to feel invisible.

We live in a noisy world and the volume is constantly increasing.  The airwaves were already cluttered before we started swimming in the Twitter Stream and digesting Facebook feeds.  We’re drowning in information and bloated.  Life is wildly hectic for many who are too busy and can’t stop.

This struggle is highlighted during the Christmas season in today’s culture.  The once simple idea of hustle and bustle now makes us cringe as we face the pressures of the holiday.  Rest and relaxation are hardly likely with so many places to go and people to please.  What happened and can we fix it?

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Remember spinning on the merry-go-round at the playground when you were a kid?  All you wanted was to get going fast.  Everything was so exciting as you dug in and took off.  Then things started going a little too fast and that grip began to slip.  You were spinning out of control and just wanted it to stop but there was no way to get off without getting hurt.  That’s the point at which the perception of being invisible turns to despair because no one comes to your rescue.

Photo Credit: NASA/Sean Smith

Our lives are like that when we set things in motion–plans for achieving goals and dreams–yet lose control during those critical turning points.  You can’t shut down that kind of momentum in an instant or someone’s going to get hurt.  The only way to get yourself back under control is by getting a firm grasp and gradually slowing down.

Lord knows I never expected to break down the philosophy of the band Hoobastank, but they have a song that really smacked me in the brain a while back.  Part of that song is about being let down by somebody we expected to be there.  When those people don’t come through we feel alone and everything starts to spin “out of control.”  It’s scary when we do everything we were supposed to do only to get blindsided in the end.

After a letdown like that we feel ignored and alone like Dorothy before she left Kansas.  When that happens we just want to pack up our problems and head for Pity City in hopes that someone there will listen.

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We had this saying when I was with Young Life that you have to earn the right to be heard.  Nothing is earned without effort.  Influence is at the heart of this idea, and you can’t influence anyone without being respected.  So how does this all tie together?