Thursday, August 5, 2010

intricate words

web on pier
Most conflicts arise from miscommunication. Oftentimes, it's because we say what we don't mean. Regularly overlooked and shrugged off as insignificant, the craft of speech is in fact quite intricate, if you really think about it. And with intricacy comes difficulty and inevitable frustration. A "Freudian slip" or one incorrect usage of a word can intensify the tension in an argument or take a discussion into an unanticipated direction.

Of course, time also plays a vital part in communication. Saying the wrong thing at the wrong time is too common a mistake - a human obstacle that cannot be averted so easily. Especially when caught up in an intensely crucial moment where overwrought emotions are involved, our minds and mouths race correspondingly. We stagger in search for the right things to say. And sometimes, words just fail to convey what we really mean to express. Most of the time, a word can be too strong, too weak, or can pertain to something else completely irrelevant.

And when we opt to keep our thoughts to ourselves and say nothing at all, what becomes of such thoughts, ideas, opinions? There's only so much we can remember, and it's not like we can command our minds to stop thinking. A vow of silence won't achieve anything either. So, we're forced to speak and express ourselves inaccurately. Say whatever we want and hope that our delivery captures the gist of what we truly mean.