must out maneuver their opponent and one can see where problems creep
in. Mistrust, greed, selfishness and paranoia are like weeds in our
minds that we must exert conscious and constant effort to remove or risk
unnecessary conflict, hurt and disappointment.
It seems that there must be some fundamental problem with human
communication. Wherever you turn it is not hard to find people having an
argument, a conflict or one person angry or frustrated with another for
some reason. But why is it like that?
I think one of the key problems for us human beings is that our way of
communicating through the use of language is very limited. When one
considers that we all have a different picture in our minds of how
things are and how they should be, it's a bit easier to realize the
basis for so much conflict. The use of the spoken word and its lack of
ability to fully convey meaning creates communication barriers for people.
For example, I have a picture about something in my mind. I try to
convey that picture through words to another. That person must hear
those words and then put them together into a picture in his mind. One
problem lies in the fact that we create different pictures. The picture
I started with might be entirely different than the one he has
constructed from listening to my words.
Couple that with the way that many view life as a chess game, where they
must out maneuver their opponent and one can see where problems creep
in. Mistrust, greed, selfishness and paranoia are like weeds in our
minds that we must exert conscious and constant effort to remove or risk
unnecessary conflict, hurt and disappointment.
When two people talk to each other, these conflicting pictures or
perspectives come into play. One person's words may be kind,
compassionate and forged with good intentions. Yet, the person receiving
the words may think that the other is being mean, rude, manipulative,
overbearing, spiteful or any other of a number of negative factors. A
conflict results based on false or partially inaccurate notions. Some
conflicts are obvious. Others fester in the mind of a person and come
out in passive-aggressive ways. In either case, these situations can
make people miserable.
Another problem stems from the simple fact that for as many people as
there are in the world, there are as many different levels of awareness
of any given situation. Some may have more information to work with than
others. I can't count the number of times when I thought things were one
way, when in fact they were another. I can't count the number of times
that I blamed someone for doing wrong when there was some factor that I
wasn't aware of. A person's range of knowledge is limited.
Multiply that by all the people on Earth having similar experiences and
it's easy to see how conflicts start. Is there a solution? It's
difficult to say. Without having a basic communication form that stems
beyond the use of the spoken word, communication is always going to be a
quagmire of complexities between any two or more people.
I feel that the situation would be better if we had a way to communicate
our entire mental picture at any given time to others, complete with the
emotional background and the history of what made us get to that state
of mind or perspective. That is far more information than the spoken
language of human beings seems capable of conveying.
One thing is for sure, in order to rise above the limitations of human
language one must employ a strong character, tempered with endurance and
tolerance, along with compassion and a desire to get closer to the truth
of any matter. Only then can one live more harmoniously with others.
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