Communication is the key !

These last few weeks,Ive noticed people telling me what to do.

My mother started the trend when I began to walk and both my parents continued until I was about 18.

Then they began 'advising' me.It was refreshing to discover that there were three or four 'choices' to situations.Why was I not made aware of this before,I thought. Though I never asked them because I was so happy with their new attitude towards me.

They had begun to treat me as an adult.An equal,even.Both knew I was intelligent,kind and thoughtful.(Good looking,too).

My father,bless him,taught me to look out for vunerable people;the elderly especially.I was often told to do our neighbours shopping or mow their lawn.In winter,i was expected to clear their paths of snow.

When I started work,I noticed a huge change !

There were people who liked the sound of their own voice and shouted at people.Some even shouted at me ! Manners were noticable by their abscence.It was horrible.

I thought long and hard about what to do.I didnt want to lose my job,nor did I want to work for rude people.One day,I took my manager to one side and explained how I felt.

He listened,then he told me the difficulties he had to deal with.Absenteeism,shoddy work etc.He continued to shout at my fellow workers,but not at me.Unless I deserved it and at times I did.

Later in life,I moved into the Care field.Again I faced similar issues.Made worse by the fact I was a man in a womans job !! That was said to me often.

By my getting on with things,peoples attitude changed.I introduced the word 'teamwork' into conversation and even the owners of Homes took notice.

Everything can be sorted as long as their is Communication.

Yet,few people truly communicate.They have the belief that only they are right and everyone else is wrong.Everything is black and white.Well,the major Issues that seperate people are actually many shades of gray.

We have become conditioned not to listen.We find it easy to say NO even when we havent heard the question.We need to change.

Opening our hearts and minds is the first step.The realisation that our neighbours are not enemies but possible friends is the first step.

We would benefit from remembering that WE are not always right.We do not have ALL the answers.But how are we to learn if we do not COMMUNICATE.