Communication is an Art Form

Today, take a minute or more and think about conscious communication. Even though we humans are the only animal with the art of language, we often mess that up. David Ji says, “Most of the suffering we experience in life comes from a break in communication.” Many times, we speak before thinking, use harmful words to ourselves and others and consistently misunderstand what is being conveyed. The Buddha often talked about “right speech.” He described it as abstaining from lying, divisive speech, abusive speech, and idle chatter. When we cultivate this art of eradicating wrong speech, we can move on to the art of concise interpretation of what others are saying. Misunderstandings arise for many reasons, including insecurities, overthinking, overuse of sarcasm, not listening, and sometimes word interpretation. It makes me wonder how we can convey anything at all. And the reality is, miscommunication is more prevalent than most of us even know. People walk around harboring resentment and anger, usually due to simple misunderstandings that often are never addressed. What a mess, right? What do we do? It’s a lifelong process to practice awareness, think before we speak, listen carefully, and then maybe take that extra step to ensure our message was received as we meant it.