Communication lines

The day started with sad news. The cat we have been looking after fondly and feeding at the car park had been run over by a vehicle and died an unpleasant death. My nephew, who is 3 years old, can't grasp the fact of death yet so he kept calling for "Kitty". Many years back, I would have been devastated over such news, being the emotional creature I am. However, this time, I was able to accept the truth for what it was, realising that all things come to an end after it runs its course. There was consolation in knowing that we made sure it didn't die of starvation, while it was alive.

Manners taught by parents and learnt by individual observation vary across cultures, places and ages. Today I came home after a round of heavy shopping, consisting of about 8-10 bags. I parked the vehicle outside the building with the hazard lights on and unloaded the bags to the step outside the lobby with several trips. I then called up my apartment and ask for the lobby door to be opened. Then I moved the bags to the inside of the lobby one by one, while managing a sliding door that closed automatically. Then I left the things there till I parked the vehicle and returned to the lobby. All the while I was doing this, there were two groups of men, one consisting of 5 and the other consisting of 2, standing right there watching me as they carried on their chatter. Now I am not saying they should have jumped in to help me or it was rude of them to just keep watching. I was perfectly capable of managing the task with a little extra effort. And I might have even preferred not to be approached by strangers to assist me. However, it is hard not to state that another group of people from an entirely different culture may have reacted differently to the situation, based on what they were taught/ learnt while growing up.

Maintaining good communication lines with people is important. We learn about it, we read about it and we even know the consequences of not following it. Yet, in real life, not everyone has the competence to follow it. Often, this leads to conflicts and misunderstandings. Once spoken, harsh words are difficult to take back. So next time, let's try to exercise more caution, shall we?

This is a catchy song that Shu likes. A bit of info on this artist: he was born in 1985 (so young!) to a Belgian mother and Rwandan father. This track reached #1 in a number of different countries starting May 2010, and still continues to remain popular. In my opinion, there is a great contrast in his voice and his facial features. His simplicity and portrayal of realism in the video is a refreshing change!

"Alors on danse" by Stromae