The Seed of Communication

6. The Seed of Communication

Two very important aspects of communication are empathy and love.

The Sioux Indians have a prayer that goes like this; “Oh Great Spirit, grant me the wisdom to walk in another’s moccasins before I criticize or pass judgement.”

Empathy: is the “feeling for” for an individual; it is the process of trying to understand the other person’s point of view, as if you were that person. Empathy is when you watch the marathon runners at the 20-mile mark, and your own legs ache. Empathy is watching a rerun of one of the Rocky Movies and hardly being able to lift your arms at the end of round fifteen.

It is important to try to view the world of others as they see it---rather than as we see it. One way to do that is to look for the good in others, regardless how different their appearance, their life style, and their particular beliefs are from your own. By looking for the good in others, you are communicating love. Love is the one message we all need most.

Love Letters To Live By
I Corinthians 13

Love is the act of demonstrating value for and looking for the good in another person.

L---is for LISTEN. To love someone is to listen unconditionally to his/her values and needs without prejudice.

O---is for OVERLOOK. To love someone is to overlook flaws an the faults in favour of looking for the good..

V---is for VOICE. To love someone is to voice your approval of him/her on a regular basis. There is no substitute for honest encouragement, positive “strokes” and praise.

E---is for EFFORT. To love someone is to make a constant effort to spend time, to make the sacrifice, to go the extra mile to show your interest.
Love requires independence and is based upon the ability to share your self with others out of choice, not out of dependent need. True love is that relationship formed by two individuals who have the ability of separately sustaining themselves. Only independent people are free to choose to stay in a relationship. People who are dependent remain in a relationship out of necessity.