Today is supposed to be icy - a road condition that I'm not fond of at all. Minion is excellent on ice, but it's not myself I worry about as much as other people. Although we do have experience with snow and ice here in the Frozen Northlands, the ice portion has never been one of my favorite weather conditions. Caution will be my code word for the day.
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Ice is my least favorite condition of winter (unless I'm on ice skates). I really don't like driving on icy roads, but today may not give me any choices. |
Have you found times in your life when caution was called for? Most of the time, in my own life, I exercise caution when dealing with other people. I enjoy people, and love to exchange conversations and observations, but I'm not always good at picking up cues from my listeners. I probably am, (or possibly am), perceived quite differently than I perceive myself. A person can love dogs, but still be a bit put off by a drooling, over-affectionate St Bernard. I'm probably a bit closer to a Whippet, but I'm sure you know what I mean.
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Conversations are interactions between people, but their individual perceptions of that conversation can differ and change, even from word to word. As people, we are raised to pick up on conversational cues - verbal and physical. All of those cues melt into the conversation to enrich it and clarify it. |
The difficulty in interacting with other people is your understanding of their perception of you. It's not that your friendship or viewpoints are unwelcome, it's that you are inserting that viewpoint into their own personal bubble. Your viewpoint may make cracks or lasting holes in their personal space. In other words, you may, intentionally or unintentionally, shake their world up a bit, change a perspective, or insert an idea that will grow like a weed, overtaking some of their carefully pruned thoughts.
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Just like weeds can take over a flower bed, ideas can plant roots that may take over ideas that had previously been foundational. Ideas and the freedom of speech can be incendiary. |
It's no wonder we end up with conflict. Communication, although we practice it daily in many interactions, is really not a strong point for most of us. Often, when it comes to larger groups of people, communication is put aside and rhetoric takes its place. Rhetoric, although some people will still use the word as "communication" really isn't. Communication requires clarity and the ability to both listen and speak. Rhetoric demands a strict framework for that communication which entails the speaker with the right to ignore negative response to his "words of wisdom". Rhetoric leads to feelings of omnipotence which can lead to conflict and war, and rhetoric can lead to dogma.
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Rhetoric, what politicians often dish out, can be merely boring, or actually dangerous. Rhetoric can be learned and passed on, sometimes becoming dogma. |
So, as we live in a world with ever increasing communication, we also live in a world with more and more mis-communication - rhetoric, dogma, and perception/perspective. How will you be perceived today? Will you be an open, caring person who truly listens? Or will you filter the words that others speak to you through a screen of rhetoric or dogma? The choice is yours. Have an excellent Tuesday and I'll be back tomorrow. Peace and love to all.
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