Lynx Thoughts

This is a philosophical statement.  It is intended to spark thinking and examining.

It also comes this week in the form of a comic:

Anyone who says they are great at communicating

but “people are bad at listening”

is confused at how communication works

— XKCD

I like this… besides being cute, I find it a wonderful little reminder of how blame and dumping can hinder what we’re out to do and what we want.  Of how easy it is to slough it off onto other people, make up a story of how come they’re the reason we’re ineffective, how bad they are, and in the process feel that delicious jolt of righteous juice.  All that to hide our disappointment in not being able to connect and reach and communicate.

Communication is so much at the core of who we are as human beings that when we are thwarted it can hurt and be uncomfortable in ways that almost defy not only description but also perception.  It’s so pervasive we don’t even notice it anymore, yet we are more than willing to dump our agency and fire off the blame cannon to salvage ourselves from that feeling. But we can take on being fully responsible (not blame!) for how a communication goes.  We may have to adapt, it may take longer, we may have to stretch ourselves in new ways – we may even have to learn (gasp!) to listen – but there’s never-ending possibility inside of taking responsibility.  If we truly want to communicate (and we do), if we truly want to align ourselves towards the future(s) we want (and we do here too), then we get to take it on.

And while that sounds super serious, nothing says we can’t have fun while we do it…