Will Rachel be delivering a sermon?

 

Dan and Rachel talk about international geopolitical issues and rain boots

 

Dan and Rachel talk about dog birthday parties and other subjects of interest

 

Join in on a little conversation with Rachel

 

Fascinating Interactions Everywhere I Go

Two elderly women were sitting at a nearby table at a restaurant this afternoon and I began to notice they were pointing at me and whispering. This continued for close to a minute or so… pointing and whispering and occasionally nodding, as if they knew something.

Finally, one of the women asked me, “Are you retired?”

I said, “No, I look a little bit older than my age, but I’m not retired yet.”

The other woman said, “See? I told you!”

I smiled, chuckled a bit and nodded my head.

Then one of them said, “Just wait until you get on Medicaid. It stinks!”

The other one said, “Yeah! I don’t like it!”

I nodded to indicate I heard her but she thought I was nodding to agree that I did not like Medicaid, as well.

She said to her friend, “See? He doesn’t like it either.”

I quickly said, “No! No! I don’t know anything about it. I just nodded to indicate that I heard you!”

They both looked at me suspiciously and that was the end of our conversation.

I seem to attract these kinds fascinating and insightful interactions everywhere I go.

Listening With The Intention of Truly Understanding

It’s not uncommon that when we are conversing with a person, we may not actually be listening intently.  It’s quite possible that we are preparing our response while the person is speaking.  (I’ve certainly done this on a few occasions.)  This is particularly true if the conversation involves some disagreement.  

One of the healthiest things that we can do in a relationship is to genuinely listen; in other words, to listen with the intention of truly understanding what the person is saying.

Intelligently Interpreting The Media Spin

When talking heads in the media speak about the need to have a “conversation” or a “dialogue” regarding certain subjects in the culture, I’ve noticed that there seem to be times in which the real meaning is this:

“Your opinion is actually unwelcome and will not be tolerated. But I use words like ‘conversation’ so you will think the communication is going both ways while I tell you what you’re supposed to think.”

By the way, I know this post comes across as kind of cynical and I don’t like cynicism.  Actually I don’t mean it in a cynical way I mean it in this sense:  When people in the media talk it is not unusual that it involves “spin” or loaded words.  Therefore, it’s helpful for us consumers of media to be savvy and discerning so that we can intelligently interpret what they really mean.