(Revisiting an old friend…)
This morning, I was thinking about all the people we have the power to speak to, either by the example of our lives lived before them or by the power of the words we share in all forms of communication.
On the other hand, I thought about all those we listen to, those we are easily enamored with or repulsed by. I wonder how many different views of life they all represent.
How do you filter out the welcomed from the rejected?
Social media has opened up the platform for sharing our positions without considering the audience. Who pays attention to your words, and what impact do they have on the masses? How well do you articulate your position? Can you convince anyone of the power of your position or do you simply incite the masses to riot?
Conversely, who are you paying attention to and drinking their position and words into your life?
You are swayed and convinced without much thought about where they are coming from. Rhetoric and emotion. Or, do you listen to logical presentations where it’s easy to connect the dots immediately or perhaps where you need to contemplate before deciding what you believe?
Regardless, I believe we are living in a time when voices are more numerous than we can easily pay attention to! Yammering noise creates a cacophony of clanging from folks who think it’s their right to be heard—by you!
It makes me yearn for the peace of off-grid living far away…
A valley surrounded by mountains…hanging glacier…and not another house in view…
I digress!
I shake myself out of the doldrums of daydreaming. I realize how impossible it is to live off the grid and away from the constant spiel from the four corners. I know it’s my responsibility to choose wisely what I say and listen with an even wiser ear to what life is saying around me, filtering for the good and spurning the wasteful.
Speaking and listening…
It takes an excellent filter to know what to say, to whom, and what to glean, and from whom.
(Hint…think this sentence through…)
We’ve learned the value of good filters. We seldom intake anything without it having gone through some filtering process. Coffee, combustion engines, water systems. Think about all the places filters are used to protect the use and user of the product. Rocks go through a separator to filter smaller and smaller pieces into mounds where all their neighbors are the same size. Even cigarettes have filters for some apparent reason! Entertainment has a filtration system that tells you what is contained so you can filter the use. We even know how to filter language with technology so words can be bleeped to avoid offending tender ears or minds.
Filters are also used to slow the process of accepting things we don’t know how to handle or are not ready to handle. Words, ideas, thoughts, examples—all can be used without context, and if you cannot understand what I’m saying, you will never grasp my meaning.
When I write, I constantly open other browser tabs to investigate words and ideas, which helps me better understand how to write for the audience.
My writing is filtered, just like your reading!
Sometimes words have deeper meanings,
And only those with a broader experience can comprehend the example or analogy.
Sometimes, you hear what you hear,
And it tells you something different than the communicator’s attempt to share.
Jesus had just completed a teaching session where folks flocked to hear his words. In the crowd were people hungry for his message and those who sought to discredit him. You can read about it in the Gospel of John, chapter 6.
Some of his teachings rubbed people the wrong way, even though they knew who Jesus was because they knew his parents. Maybe it’s the nature of humanity to quarrel among ourselves over the words we hear, and this is precisely what the audience did. His words were so profoundly different that they created consternation and confusion, but it also got them talking among themselves about the meaning of his words.
Even the disciples of Jesus murmured,
“This is a hard saying; who can understand it?”
Jesus tells them, “…the words I speak are spirit and life”,
even knowing that there were those who would never believe him and would betray him.
(John 6:60-64)
Here’s my thought today.
I’m weary of the flash of emotions that are created by the words we speak and the words we hear. It’s almost like someone wants their 15 minutes of fame to be the first to start an argument, accuse, or incite the audience.
As good listeners, we should be better about our reactions to what we hear.
As good communicators, we should realize that not everyone is on the same page, and perhaps we should temper our speech with better words to ease the audience we communicate with.
I’m just thinking this morning…
If I’ve caused you consternation, I apologize. It’s not my intention. However, I’m generally a rugged exterior with a tender heart. I want to communicate better, like I want to receive better. It is a two-way path we live on.
We need good filters.
It Takes A Good Filter #2 People may hear your words, but they feel your attitude. ~John C. Maxwell Click To Tweet
Thank you for reading.
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It helps me get my book written!