Words overheard

Image by Kiran Hania from Pixabay



Do you people-watch? Surely all writers people-watch.

Think of all the snatches of conversation you’ve ever heard – on the street, in shops, on the train and the bus. Suddenly you have a glimpse into other people’s lives. Words overheard can be comedic, complaining or cringe-worthy (sadly, Christians are not exempt from this). Or you can overhear a witty exchange, words of affection between two people who know each other well … or, which is much less lovely, morsels of gossip and downright bitching. But all that is grist to a writer’s mill: the good and the bad, the funny and tragic, the dark and the light together.

Words overheard can give us a window into people’s lives, if not exactly their souls. You can’t judge a person just on their words. You’re only hearing and seeing one small fragment of that person and who they really are. The nicest person in the world can have an off-day. The saintliest Christian can lose their temper with an inconsiderate driver and let loose with some choice expletives they wouldn’t dare utter in front of their pastor or minister. I’m just saying.

People are just so entertaining … including me. Often unintentionally so. Including me. People in all their human-ness. The quirky, the eccentric, the sweetly normal, the blessedly polite and courteous, the rude and cantankerous, the depressed and upset, the frustrated and angry, the put-upon, oppressed and abused. Relationships beginning, relationships ending, marriages in contentment, marriages fracturing. You can hear it all, in words overheard.

Often words overheard can be surreal. You’re missing the overall context of the conversation, in which case your imagination can run riot. Or you can hear someone’s partner in the railway carriage, complaining on their smartphone to another friend about their other half’s behaviour. Who’s really in the wrong, in this scenario? – perhaps you can guess from the tone and demeanour of the person doing the complaining. Perhaps they’re the one being taken advantage of. Or perhaps they’re the nightmare, an expert in gaslighting. It can be dangerous to make snap judgements … we can’t read someone’s mind, or their heart.

The human condition. God sees it all. Notes it all. Understands it all. Loves us all. Which doesn’t mean that he loves all that we DO … far from it. But, since he once chose to become human himself, he does get it. He gets it completely. The best writers and poets are also able to express the human condition, which is why their work is timeless. I’m always impressed by Shakespeare’s insight into human nature.

May God always increase our compassion for our fellow human beings and the human mess we all find ourselves in (we have no choice about that!) May our writing show perception and wisdom. May our souls grow as writers, as we listen, observe, take notes, and laugh, or weep, with others.

I’m an Anglican lay minister and also work full time for the United Reformed Church. I wrote a devotional for the anthology Light for the Writer’s Soul, published by Media Associates International, and my short story ‘Magnificat’ appears in the ACW anthology Merry Christmas Everyone.