The Ultimate Non-Absolute

How do I define "absolute?" Easy. It is an act or truism where there is no room for doubt or misinterpretation. For instance, if one jumps naked into a swimming pool filled with water, the fact that they will get wet is an absolute. Punching someone in the nose is an absolute in that it is direct and an act of aggression. The age-old mathematical equation of 2 + 2 = 4 is an absolute. Adding those particular numbers and getting that result is an absolute because there can be no other answer. The great thing about absolutes is that they are so easy and rarely, if ever, generate conflict. They are universally accepted.

That means everything else that is not an absolute is subject to debate, possible conflict, and an array of interpretations. You wanna know a perfect example of something that is a non-absolute? Here goes: communication. It, you might say, is the ultimate non-absolute. Rarely does an attempt by one to connect with another result in unanimous interpretation. Here's an example: A husband wants to recognize his wife's birthday so he decides to buy her a dozen red roses. Surely anyone looking at such an act would view that as being a loving and selfless gesture. Not necessarily. Suppose the wife is allergic to flowers? Or suppose she does not like receiving flowers of any kind because of their limited lifespan? These variables raise questions about the purity of the husband's act.

With any act of communication comes multiple perspectives. Multiple perspectives lead to conversations that include disagreement and possible conflicting justifications, mistrust, and even lasting hard feelings. That communication is an non-absolute makes it an ongoing challenge for all of us simply because of the absolute that each of us communicates all the time, every day of our lives. Interestingly, this does not mean we communicate poorly. Rather, our acts of communication are never not subject to a multitude of interpretations.