Communication
“It was so cold that if the thermometer had been an inch longer,
we would have frozen to death.”
--Mark Twain
All of us are aware that the length of the thermometer is not what causes us to freeze to death. A similar analogy is probably true about the words we speak. Words can cause us to freeze to death, too — sometimes it’s not the words we say, but more often it’s how our words are decoded by the listener(s). Words, words, words. Here is a little story that Tony deMello tells about a farmer in Finland:
“When they were drawing up the Russian-Finnish border, the farmer had to decide whether he wanted to be in Russia or Finland. After a long time he said he wanted to be in Finland, but he didn’t want to offend the Russian officials. They came to and wanted to know why he wanted to be in Finland. The farmer replied, ‘It has always been my desire to live in Mother Russia, but at my age I wouldn’t be able to survive another Russian winter.’”
How problematic our words can be! Our communication with one another can sometimes be incomplete and misunderstood. Who knows? Maybe this very meditation doesn’t make sense! Maybe you are interpreting my words in a different way than I am wanting! It seems the Psalmist captured the most important aspect of communication:
“May the words of my mouth
and the meditation of my heart
be pleasing in your sight,
O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.”
--Ben Keckler
05.18.11
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