Misunderstanding: The Half Truth

MISUNDERSTANDING: THE HALF TRUTH

"In the whole round of human affairs little is so fatal to peace as misunderstanding."  - Margaret E. Sangster

A half truth is dangerous than a complete lie, it might prove fatal too. I've mentioned repeatedly in my previous posts that our perspective is always colored by how we want to see it rather than what it actually is. If our opinion is asked by someone indicates the person's trust on us, that our opinion counts. Someone's gain is someone's pain. All of our five senses are of utmost importance: Sight, Smell, Sound, Touch, Taste.

Misunderstanding begins with an 'assumption'. We interpret someone's actions or words by what we 'assume'. Given the opportunity to clarify, things might not be as it seemed. Again, some of us have a habit of interrupting other's when they speak which leads to mis-communication. This 'assumption' or 'mis-communication' leads to bitterness in the life ahead. There are memories that we remember & those which we can't forget. Any dark-shade of life falls under the latter.  That's why a person must first learn to be a good 'listener'. Here by a good listener I mean to use our 'Sound' & 'Sight' senses i.e. Audio/Visual. We must learn to note even the slightest change in the brows and also the 'eye-lip-synchronization'. We can tell whether a person is feeling well or not by their voice. They sound low/sore & you come to know that there's some problem. Using our 'Sound' sense is utmost required while we can't see the person i.e. over the internet chatting, telephonic conversation etc. At that time the only signs we'll get will be through the 'sound' of the person.

Reserved people have a good control & command over their words but the other person should also be intellect enough to understand their silence. Silence is much more deadlier, powerful & expressive than words. However, as we have seen many times, silence is always regarded as 'a tool of coward-ness'. This is why we need to use our A/V senses. If we cannot hear the words, we can atleast notice the facial expressions, the body language etc. No person can be so numb that he/she has control over their facial expressions, body language, voice; at the same time. Like life gives us signs, people do it too.

So ultimately all we need to do is learn to 'listen' & 'see' things as they are or we live in a delusion where both parties get hurt.

"Where misunderstanding serves others as an advantage, one is helpless to make oneself understood." - Lionel Trilling 

"In human intercourse the tragedy begins, not when there is misunderstanding about words, but when silence is not understood." -  Henry David Thoreau