Communication 101 – 10 Crucial Practices
Posted: February 13, 2012 Filed under: Parenting, Thoughts Leave a comment »
I remember a long time ago and being in a conversation that just made me squirm. Oh it was painful. I kept interrupting, interjecting, and trying to explain what was happening. My friend, a close friend, grew annoyed at my interjections. It made her mad. I was confused. I thought she loved me, I thought she cared, I just couldn’t understand why she was beating me up with all these words of complaint.
A few years later I took a communications class sponsored by my employer. It wasn’t a required class, but it was offered as a service to help us be happier, healthier employees. I learned much, but because I wasn’t in a relationship at the time, I didn’t have a way to practice these new found skills. But I did try applying them in other situations – with my Mom, friends, coworkers, etc.
Do We Really Get to Pick Our Own Battles?
Posted: February 8, 2012 Filed under: Post Adventist, questions, Spirituality, Thoughts Leave a comment »
If you were walking down the street and saw someone beating an elderly person, or a small child, how would you react? Would it change things if it were your child, or your parent? If your child fell in the river, how would you react? What if the neighbor’s house was on fire, and their children were trapped? What would you do? How would you react?
Sometimes, the truth is so clear, you can do nothing but react. Sometimes, the right thing is the right thing – one must react, instantly, and just do it.
Other times, the situations unfold more slowly and the issues are more complex. It is often difficult to discern what the right thing is and how it should be handled. But that doesn’t absolve us of responsibility, nor does it remove the call to action. Whether the issues developed with lightening speed, or glacially, corrective action may still be required.
Filtering Fear and Fascism
Posted: March 23, 2010 Filed under: EMS, Parenting, Spirituality, Thoughts 7 Comments »My thoughts on Sunday’s health care vote…
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The passage of The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (H.R. 3590), otherwise known as Obamacare, universal healthcare, and other terms, is arguably one of the most controversial issues of our day. To me, it seems like more heat was generated after the passage of the Bill, then before. It also seems that much of the debate has degenerated into name-calling, generalizations, and ignorant statements. This sadly has generated more heat than light.
While I have tried to be a relatively open-minded participant in the discussion, contributing links and observations via Twitter, Delicious, Facebook, and other online media, for the most part it seemed as if those discussions would quickly spiral out of control. More than once I deleted inflammatory comments. Recently, I asked my followers if my contributions had influenced anyone. I only received one response (thank you Brandi!) to the actually question, and then paragraphs of derogatory remarks and hateful speech. Again, I deleted the conversation.
Today, I do not want to debate the merits or concerns of the actual Bill. (feel free to add your opinion to the poll below) I do not want to hear how horrible the passage of this legislation is to us as a country. I also don’t want to hear high praises for the changes coming in 2014 (when the law is fully implemented). Instead, I want to talk a little about how we, generally, as individuals, and groups, process ideas and communicate. If you start commenting, please don’t try to debate the actual healthcare Bill. I will moderate comments freely. This post isn’t about healthcare, freedom, taxes, poverty, or partisans. This post is about how we filter ideas and how those filters keep us from communicating clearly.
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