Communicate: “To share knowledge” is probably the best composite definition I can muster. Sometimes the antonym gives us a better clarity on what it is. To withhold or conceal information describes the covert nature of what it means not to communicate.
My family was a talking family. Sometimes when I would bring people over to my house they would say, “Your family talks a lot.” Sometimes when I would visit other people they didn’t talk much and I found it rather frightening, to be honest about it. I felt like they didn’t like me if they didn’t talk to me. So, in my life communicating was a way of being. Now, does that mean we were good at it? No, of course not. Unless you are saying things worthwhile it is nothing but meaningless gibberish. But, at least you are trying.
Communication takes time. It is something that has to be thought about. It has to be created. In many cases it requires the recipient to listen, read, or watch something, figure out what it means, think about it and then respond in kind. We think it is easy, but it isn’t. We often think it isn’t important, but it is very important. But, it takes “time” to communicate and that is something we are hoarding.
We are communicating almost constantly, consciously or unconsciously. We have been programmed to communicate, just like all living things do. When you watch a flock of Seagulls on the shore when they fly around looking for food in their aerobatic way but they rarely touch each other. You can walk in Times Square when it is the busiest and people rarely run into each other. This built in communication system is quite amazing when you think about it. Even Ants communicate, as does just about everything.
But, communicating knowledge is a different thing altogether from the subconscious automatic functioning of our minds. When you are trying to get something done communication is all important and when you do it well things become clear and simple. We are dealing with all of the cards. Everyone knows what is what.
When I want to organize my visit to where my brother lives, I don’t talk to my brother but to his wife because we exchange pertinent facts that clarifies what each party is doing. It makes life a lot easier. The communication between people is one of the most important things about being a human. Without it there is chaos. With it, peace…eventually.
Communication is about reaching a ‘common’ understanding about ‘what is’. Without it there is ‘misunderstanding’ which usually leads to confusion.
The problem with communication is we have a lot of people to interact with and keeping up with everyone isn’t easy. But, doing so makes life much more enjoyable. It helps in solving problems or better yet, avoiding them.