Quote of the Week: “But you can’t make people listen…”

Happy Monday, everyone! I wanted to keep this post short and sweet, so I’ll get right into it. I decided to share a quote from Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451.

“But you can’t make people listen. They have to come round in their own time…”

Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451

If you’ve ever been around kids, you’ll know that sometimes you can tell them something a hundred times and they still won’t listen to you. For example, imagine you’re watching a little boy who keeps tipping his chair back and forth while he’s sitting in it. You tell him over and over again to stop because he could fall and get hurt. However, he still keeps rocking his chair. Then his chair tips all the way backwards, and he does fall. He begins to cry, and you comfort him. Now that he’s experienced this consequence for himself, he won’t tip his chair back and forth anymore. Well, adults are sometimes no different than kids, and no matter how many times you try to give someone advice or show them the truth, they still might not listen. You could scream something from the rooftops, but if someone isn’t willing to listen, they still won’t hear you. It’s not our responsibility to force others to listen. All we can do is have patience and show love to those around us.