Being In-Sync

I do my best not to over simplify matters of disagreement, contention or dispute. Doing so does not always do justice to the issue at-hand and it also tends to redefine the matter in a way that presents it in an inaccurate and misleading light. At the same time, whenever issues of this nature occur or are brought to my attention for comment, I do my best to identify the core reasons for a dispute. It helps me better understand what is going on and, if I can, articulate those points pertinent parties cannot or do not seem to be able to reconcile. I should note here that because of my own limitations, I am not always able to do this as well or as consistently as I would like.

In my own limited experience, I am struck at how often communication is the primary reason for why people either drift apart, argue, or behave in ways that do harm to the other. From my perspective, not being in sync with another person is the core culprit for disruptions or breakdowns in relationships. Thus, at the risk of oversimplfying such occurrences: if people communicated better, then we would have far fewer problems of consequence? Perhaps. But at the same time, would such a statement be true? I have to say "yes." How could communicating with openness, mutual trust, honesty and respect result in any thing other than people being more in sync with one another?

Another point I wish to note is that I do not view being "in sync" with another person as being in-agreement with them. It can, but not necessarily. All of us are different as we have our own perspectives and biases. Many of us may like ice cream, for example, but that does not mean we prefer the same flavor. At the same time, there may be those who do not like ice cream at all, Instead, they prefer pie or even no sweet. How well do we communicate those preferences with others? How well do we respect the preferences of others? Often, it is when we fall short at either one when problems appear that tend to escalate. This is what happens when poor communication is afoot.