Tuesday, June 23, 2015

Exploring Communication & Revisiting Silence

"Everyone communicates: the sparrow with the blue jay, the ants with one another, the queen bee and her workers, the woman at her doorstep thanking the mailman. The quality of this communication is what's key."*

Sometimes the quality of my communication is not quite polite. My voice tone leans toward harsh or curt. I'm impatient. Mostly, of course, this happens with people I love.

How would you describe the quality of your communication?

"Behind words is the silence that supports honesty and self-reflection."*

This is a way of thinking about silence that wasn't mentioned last post about silence. I'm scratching my head and don't quite know what to think of this idea. I keep writing a sentence to explore it and then think - no, that's not right! What do you make of it?

As for the image, I received it on my walk this evening after going out of the house thinking I wouldn't find anything interesting. Why would someone hang a perfectly good pair of socks where a bird feeder or plant is supposed to be? A mystery to explore! And if you know why the socks are there - let me know! Any ideas?

Please email me with your comments or go to the blog www.nickymendenhall.blogspot.com

Thanks for exploring the mystery with me - Nicky Mendenhall

*Michael Stone in Awake in the World (2011)
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2 comments:

  1. NinaJune 24, 2015 at 10:55 AM

    Regarding the photo: I think that someone got tired of losing socks to the dryer, so they put them in pairs and hung them outside to dry.

    Regarding the quote, "Behind words is the silence....": That's why we have to think before we speak and connect to the silence that supports our honesty & self-reflection. Recently I heard the following and wanted to share. It's important that we THINK before we speak because we should give our response the following queries:
    T Is it true?
    H is it helpful?
    I is it inspiring?
    N is it necessary?
    K is it kind?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. NicolaJune 24, 2015 at 11:52 AM

      The sox mystery solved. Thank you Nina!

      I love your acrostic! Did you know that's what it is called when you use the first letter of a word to make a poem, word puzzle, or a way to remember something? I learned the word while taking an Abbey of the Arts creativity class.

      Full disclosure: I couldn't quite remember the word and had to Google to find it.

      Thank you for reading and commenting. Much appreciated!

      Delete

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