Shields

I sat next to a nice lady on the plane and we chatted about this and that. It's interesting how we can have a great conversation and walk away with very little information revealed about each other. We shield ourselves, protecting against what? Are we afraid of hurt, an attack against who we really are? Or do we just need more training on how to communicate? Maybe both are correct. Trivial talk to me is a waste of time, yet necessary to bridge the gap with people. How do we break down the shields and truly get to know that person next to us? When the lady on the plane realized I wanted to know about her, she opened her shield just a little and let me see inside. A process for sure, slower than I would like, but rewarding at the end of the day.