Thursday, April 22, 2010

You said and I said and we heard

At the risk of boring you to tears by repeating myself, I am going to repeat myself - I absolutely love your comments.

Of course I'm speaking to those of you who have left comments. I mean, just look at them! They're not some BSC comments, the likes of which I've described in my other blog, The Blog Doctor is In. On the contrary, they are conversation pieces, in and of themselves, each one of them and I am truly grateful.

I wouldn't blog if I didn't hold out hope that my posts would kindle some fine conversations which, I'm chaffed to say, they have. Instead, I'd maintain a private journal which is what I had been doing until I started my blogs.

But the thought of having visitors drop into my cyber home, snoop around a little and then choose to leave behind a couple of their thoughts and feelings and share some of their experiences with me, all from the distant outposts of their laptops or workstations so many miles away, is just so alluring. Heck, it's more than alluring.  It's exciting. It's thrilling. It's exhilarating.  It's...alright, alright, if I don't watch myself, this post will soon become nauseating.

I've always enjoyed good conversation. Conversation that arises from deep, feeling places of the heart and rich, thoughtful places of the mind. Conversations that let me hear the sound bytes of your soul because I've stopped to listen and because you've stopped to speak.

What could be more gratifying or more indulgent, especially in contrast to the cacophony of mindless drivel and self-serving prattle that seem to characterize our daily communication or is that connectivity? Or information exchange?  Know what I mean?

I mean, we exchange repetitive sound bytes as proof, not just to others but perhaps more importantly to ourselves, that we're alive. We spout cliches because we're too lazy or too tired to speak extemporaneously or too tuned out to, or dismissive of, our feelings and thoughts to want to reflect them accurately. We use fifty words when two would say enough yet more.  And we remain silent while there are a dozen hurricanes raging inside our minds.

Forgive me if I sound critical. I don't mean to be. But I do observe the way we (myself and people generally) exchange information so much of the time and can therefore see, in contrast, the way we communicate and connect some of the time and marvel at and be grateful for the latter.  Which is where I think I started this post.

To all those who've stopped to speak with me, thank you. Please don't stop stoppng! And here's to you:

Image from here

 Care to visit the Amazon book jungle?

Communicate!   Communicate: Strategies for International Teaching Assistants  Everyone Communicates, Few Connect: What the Most Effective People Do Differently


How to Talk to Anyone: 92 Little Tricks for Big Success in Relationships  Conversationally Speaking : Tested New Ways to Increase Your Personal and Social Effectiveness  Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes are High


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