(no title)

The real art of conversation

“The real art of conversation is not only to say the right thing at the right place but to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment.”

—Dorothy Nevill

Be brave enough…

“Be brave enough to start a conversation that matters.” — Margaret Wheatley

+Parents and kids talking together

“Let children read whatever they want and then talk about it with them. If parents and kids can talk together, we won’t have as much censorship because we won’t have as much fear.”
― Judy Blume

Listen completely

“When people talk,

listen completely.

Most people never listen.”

— Ernest Hemingway

Be brave

“Be brave enough to start a conversation that matters.”

—-Margaret Wheatley

One good Conversation

“One good conversation can shift the direction of change forever.”

— Linda Lambert

Change your world by changing your words

“You can change your world by changing your words… Remember, death and life are in the power of the tongue.”

— Joel Osteen

Communication is one of the greatest tools we possess as individuals and societies. It can be used to bring us together, teach, heal and create. But it can also be one of our greatest problems tearing us apart. Many of the problems we see in the world today stem from communication — miscommunication, inappropriate communication or sometimes even a total lack of communication.

If we are going to heal the world, we have to start talking to each other. Not just talking at but also listening and communicating at deeper levels. The days of only talking about the important stuff with people we know agree with us needa to end.

I had already scheduled this month before the pandemic. But now communication has taken on a whole new meaning and importance hasn’t it? Stay with me for our regular Thought for Today as well of a few of my own thoughts about communication in the time of social distancing.

Please join me this month as we look at communication. Leave your comments below and let’s communicate!

So what have you learned?

We know that many are still dealing with the virus and we will be living with the aftermath of this for some time to come. The immensity of the loss of life, jobs, homes, and financial security has not quite hit most of us yet. There will be much grieving for some time . But today I want to talk about what we have learned from this international crisis.

We all know some people have spent this forced “time out” being angry, frightened, bored, hoarding food and supplies, or even profiting from the misfortune of others. Who will ever forget the empty store shelves and the “toilet paper crisis?”

But others have been enjoying the chance to rest, decompress and spend more time with family, learning new information and skills, or just taking the time to do those things at home they never had time for. Some have even used this time to heal physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

People have prayed, meditated, forgiven, and asked for forgiveness. We have discovered new ways to come together and still reach out to others in spite of “social distancing.”

Authorities tell us the virus has temporarily reached a peak, but that it’s not over and will return. The government tells us we must return to work for the economic well being of all, as long as we do so with certain precautions.

My hope is that in the days to come we will not just go back to “business as usual.” Instead, let’s learn important truths from this experience — both good and bad. I hope we will come out of this situation better people who have taken the time to work on ourselves while also finding new ways to help and connect to others and are ready to come together to create a world that works for all.

As I close this month I want to leave you with a few questions: What has changed for you? What have you learned? How will your life be different? What do you want to see continue when we are past the crisis? Let’s talk!

We are returning to our regular blog posts, but I will relate them to what is going on in our world as appropriate. Tomorrow we will begin a month of posts on communication. How does this relate to the circumstances we are currently living through?

So, be safe as we enter into May. Please make your comments on these posts and quotes and let’s start a conversation.