That's not my home!
This early settler's stone house was built on a rocky hillslope on the road out of Canberra.
No, that's not my home!
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| Pelican and Cormorant having a chat at Wellington, South Australia. |
Conversing - Am I willing to “give” without necessarily expecting to “receive”?
Did I really converse, having a meaningful conversation, with at least one person whom I spoke with today? While “small talk” is vitally important, it really is only used when we choose not to engage in a meaningful conversation or to break the ice with those we don’t know or to re-establish a connection, or when it is more appropriate to not be engaged in conversation that takes one beyond the state of the weather.
In my life today, when it is appropriate to converse on that meaningful level, I hope to concentrate on “conversational-give-and-take”. You see, when we are in relationship, it is not really about me, but it is about us¸ so meeting with that other person with an appropriate friendly greeting, with a verbal acknowledgement and with caring words, I will aim to be helpful or meaningful to that person. If they give me the opportunity to also engage in talk about myself, then the relationship might develop into something meaningful to both of us. But I have to be willing to “give” first, without necessarily expecting to “receive”. And hopefully, but not necessarily, we will engage in a reciprocal give-and-take in our conversing, each finding meaning in our conversation.
