Do you ever think about language or communication and how interesting it is?? What I say versus what others hear? Even sometimes what we say to ourselves…. Hmmm.
Well last week I was on my usual morning walk with my neighbour, and I heard her say “did you get ova d boof mi gi u?” we continued walking for a while, and I was thinking “SAY WAT” then I asked, “wah u seh??” She repeated herself “did you recover the puffa (English word for a hassock or footstool) mi gi u?” of course I started laughing hysterically and she was puzzled, wondering what I was laughing so hard about. I explained what I “heard” and she was now laughing until both of us had to stop walking because we were almost on the ground laughing.
What Happens If We Listen
Now imagine if I didn’t ask her to repeat what she said.. what stories would I have in my head about her?? Can you imagine I would have walked away spending days, weeks or maybe even longer thinking about “which BOOF she gi mi?” I probably would be thinking is how many times she gi mi a boof and mi nu even memba….
Is it just me or have you heard something someone said, gotten upset, angry or VEX and held on to it for days, months or even YEARS? Are we truly listening to ourselves or the persons we are communicating with? Are we communicating?
I once heard that as human beings, we spend our time listening to respond vs truly listening to the person we are talking to… And if we are unsure of what is said, are we asking persons to repeat, explain or clarify to ensure we understand so we don’t live our lives in a state of “UPSET” or “Mis-understandings”… hmmm. How about listening today to understand who we are communicating with?
