(Madisyn Taylor)
Each of us has developed an internal filtering process that helps us choose which parts of our constant inner monologues get voiced outside of our heads. Sometimes the choice is based on what we consider to be polite or appropriate, using subtlety instead of directness to try to get our point across. Other times the choice is made based on our expectations of the other person and what we feel they should know about us, our feelings, and our needs. But our best chance of getting what we need is to communicate specifically.
This may seem unnecessary sometimes, especially when we think the other person has the same information that we ourselves are working with, but we have to remember they also have their own inner voice, evaluating what they hear in light of their own issues and needs. With so much to consider and sift through, we are truly better off if we communicate precisely. Not only does doing this minimize the chance for misinterpretation.
When we have the courage to speak our minds and use our voice to send the desires of our hearts from our inner world to the world outside, we take a bold step in making them happen.
My Thoughts:
Communication is so often not a two-way street. There is a fine line between having a free reign to the expression of thoughts and the not hurting or upsetting anyone in the process. However, there are always going to be those people that seem to have no inner restrictors on what they say, regardless of how it affects other people.
Back in my growing-up days, there was a moral code as in the immortal words of Thumper (from the film Bambi) … ‘If you can’t say nothing nice, don’t say nothing at all.’
But that does not seem to be the by-word of most people these days. There is an almost unwritten law allowing freedom of speech to be taken to the extreme in some cases, but if the same logic is extended to some that adhere to this, then they cry out about being offended.
The right to be offended is open to all, but that does not necessarily mean that anyone needs to do anything about it. Not everyone is offended by the same things and therefore there are no governing rules, or proverbial lines that are crossed. I am not talking about religion, racism, ageism or any other ‘ism’ that is out there, but simply the almost inconsequential stuff that affronts some.
However, just because you don’t like it, doesn’t mean that other have any duty not to say or do it if it not breaking any laws of the land. I think the by-word should always be to use discretion, to not knowingly say anything that will upset others, simply to be able to get what we want.