How is there so much disconnect and misunderstanding in a world saturated with various languages and complex forms of communicating? A glimpse at how we interact with understanding felt like the perfect introduction to this newsletter. A phrase my father used to say to me was “listen, don’t hear me.” As a kid, I couldn’t believe I had a madman for a father who said confusing things like that. As an adult, it is a bit more apparent what he meant when he said that. Our society has a bad habit of hearing but not truly listening. We don’t listen to context, tone, circumstances, language, or perspective. We hear to respond, not to understand. This often renders us incompetent to have serious conversations about things that matter because nuance is thrown out the window with understanding. Here is a short take on the intimacy of understanding and why the death of nuance in society could contribute to the demise of ideas, the progress of justice, compassion, and healthy human connections.
Beautiful beyond words.
Thank you!