Balance, objectivity, definitions, and life.

It is not a day that goes by that any of us are involved with communication, either as an observer from some form of media, as a bystander in a coffee shop, or we just simply a fact of life that we must communicate with others in this life to achieve a deep rumbling that demands we connect in some way with others like us.

The problem with this communication facet in our lives is that no one is like us, and we are like no one. Therefore the words which one may use to convey a meaning may be interpreted differently because of any number of bounds. Let me give you the perfect example.

When I was in second grade, my parents returned to the United States from Zimbabwe. After being through two years of a school where the teaching was based off a british system from teachers who were descendants of british language custom etc. So when the little device on the end of my pencil broke while I was rubbing out a mistake, I walked up to the teacher and said "Miss, my rubber (the word I had been taught to use for the "eraser") broke, can I borrow yours?" Well for a teacher who apparently missed the memo that I was not from America, thought I was being crass and referencing an American slang word for a condom. Which ended in a very interesting parent teacher conference.

This is a little extreme, however this goes on all the time. Today, especially the younger demographic tends to be emotionally driven, very right brained if you will, and the recent century seems to be a shift from left brained society  to a right brained society. From personal discipline and watchfulness (thinking deeply, understanding before moving and being objective), to a sense of life to be lived, and emotional fulfillment often at the expense of our watchfulness. This is not "bad" it is just a shift, a reaction who we are now. These shifts and reactions come when the balance has gone to far from the center and as a demographic there is an attempt to regain the balance. So it is not how can we as those who are going to be the next generation of leaders and parents regain all that we have lost, rather how can we harness this new shift and still culture ancient principles which are still held in high esteem in most cultures today.

In a world within the teen demographic, where words and means are extremely build is where these ideas can be most influential in helping conflict and poor communication. I really don't have the answer to how this looks or what it should look like, but I think that there is a sense where we can teach objectivity while preserving emotional experience.

One more thing to think about.