Class starts tonight. I don't know if I mentioned it before but I'm addicted to college courses. Ok...maybe that's not exactly true. Obsession is probably a better word. Habit gone wild. My class tonight is Communication Theory.
Theory. That's the perfect word for it really. Do any of us really have communication mastered? Even those who I feel are closest to me interpret what we each read and hear differently...and these are people I know very well. How can I ever hope to understand and be understood by people I'm just getting to know? Even here...I write, but is what I'm saying what you're getting? Often...you're getting more than I'm giving. That's an amazing thing.
People aren't all that great at this communication stuff...but horses...they've got it mastered. A shift in weight, ears pinned back, head lowered and hind foot lifted and inch or two off the ground...well somebody is about to get kicked or bitten, depending upon your proximity. But if ears are pricked forward, eyes are bright and curious, nose stretched toward you softly blowing...that horse has taken a liking to you and is wondering what you might have for him. Apple perhaps?
Horses don't need words to let you...or their herd mates...know exactly what's going on with them. There is little ambiguity once you know the body language. We humans on the other hand lean so heavily on words. Body language is often ignored or discounted. Words carry more weight.
Why?
Sometimes we don't want to see the truth. Sometimes we'd rather filter our interpretation towards what we want to believe because seeing the real truth hurts. Or it could mean making a difficult decision or embarking on a change that we feel sorely unprepared for. Words make it easy to pretend.
Evolution is a great teacher. Horses fine tuned their observation skills to survive. Prey animals kind of have to do that. We've had the luxury of languishing in habits that may not serve us but most of the time don't actually kill us.
Why is it so hard to take in the whole message? Why is it so hard to speak our own truths? Why do we hide from one another?
Apples for the teacher.
WS
Theory. That's the perfect word for it really. Do any of us really have communication mastered? Even those who I feel are closest to me interpret what we each read and hear differently...and these are people I know very well. How can I ever hope to understand and be understood by people I'm just getting to know? Even here...I write, but is what I'm saying what you're getting? Often...you're getting more than I'm giving. That's an amazing thing.
People aren't all that great at this communication stuff...but horses...they've got it mastered. A shift in weight, ears pinned back, head lowered and hind foot lifted and inch or two off the ground...well somebody is about to get kicked or bitten, depending upon your proximity. But if ears are pricked forward, eyes are bright and curious, nose stretched toward you softly blowing...that horse has taken a liking to you and is wondering what you might have for him. Apple perhaps?
Horses don't need words to let you...or their herd mates...know exactly what's going on with them. There is little ambiguity once you know the body language. We humans on the other hand lean so heavily on words. Body language is often ignored or discounted. Words carry more weight.
Why?
Sometimes we don't want to see the truth. Sometimes we'd rather filter our interpretation towards what we want to believe because seeing the real truth hurts. Or it could mean making a difficult decision or embarking on a change that we feel sorely unprepared for. Words make it easy to pretend.
Evolution is a great teacher. Horses fine tuned their observation skills to survive. Prey animals kind of have to do that. We've had the luxury of languishing in habits that may not serve us but most of the time don't actually kill us.
Why is it so hard to take in the whole message? Why is it so hard to speak our own truths? Why do we hide from one another?
Apples for the teacher.
WS
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