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.
Context
Posted: February 12, 2012 Filed under: Thoughts Leave a comment »For the past couple of years I’ve been
trying to put it all into focus. Putting the political, employment, social, and spiritual issues into perspective has been a struggle. In my mind, the spiritual trumps the others, but apparently that isn’t true for everyone and every organization. So, as I sought to understand the motives, compared to my own, and weighing those against my mistakes, and others, I was confused.
In talking to some friends yesterday, I realized that it was a lot like trying to make sense of a sudden, unexpected, and tragic death. Not only is there the grief, but the big “why?” question also. It is hard. Not that the loss of a job is anywhere near the loss of a close family member, but I think you get what I’m trying to say.
” Thanks for bearing with me.”
As I’ve been able to better understand the mismatch of priorities, I believe I can lay this to rest. I now understand the Church doesn’t stand for what I thought it did. This helps me to accept it for what it is.
I was stuck, but at least I feel peace right now.
Some of you may wonder why I ever wrote about this stuff on a blog supposedly about being a man with a Dad Attitude. It’s a good question – but it all has to do with learning to deal with hardship, pushing through the barriers, and not passing on resentment, anger, grief, and depression to my kids. Thanks for bearing with me.
“It is what it is.”
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.
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