The lost art of conversation

"Great minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, small minds discuss people."  - Eleanor Roosevelt


I read this quote the day after I attended an excruciating luncheon with some members of my department.  I was sitting between a stony faced secretary and a woman who is undoubtedly the most abrasive doctor in our department.  It was actually worse than the many tedious meals I've sat through with Larry's work colleagues.  I love talking to people. Absolutely love it.  And it used to be so fun to socialize, when I inhabited a mileau where the discussion of ideas was welcomed, embraced, and encouraged.  For years now, I feel like I'm trapped in a land where ideas are taboo - only the minutia of life are acceptable conversation topics. Only the most banal, pointless, meaningless subjects are allowed. It's so painful to me. And I don't know how to fix this - I keep joining groups, trying to cultivate friends with broader interests, but it really isn't working.  If Ms Roosevelt captured the reality of interesting conversation in such a pithy quote, I cannot be the only person on the planet who feels this way!