Misunderstandings : A bane

It had been a week of arguments in that home. The husband and wife had been involved in tiffs over trivial issues. In such an atmosphere, it was decided that on Friday, the couple would visit the wife’s parents for dinner. The wife was eagerly awaiting her husband at the predecided time at 8 pm. However, he was going to be late and his cell was unreachable. She tried to contact him, but to no avail. He also could not call her. In a fit of rage built on a past foundation of emotions, at 8:15 pm, she walked off alone with tears in her eyes. He reached home at 8:20 pm only to see that she had walked off without informing him. Drawing inference in the same vein, he called up his friends and went to a bar to soak himself in pints of beer.

Both kept ruing each other for their indifferent behavior. Who was to blame? Who should have been considerate?

Learning from the event:

Humans are judgmental and they keep making mental note of every event and every behavior. These judgments harden into images and images into perceptions. Once perceptions are formed, it becomes very difficult to change them. Misunderstandings are a function of misperceptions and misperceptions are a function of miscommunication. We all are highly demanding creatures. However evolved we maybe, we still remain deficient in terms of attention, nurture and love. We need constant communication to assure us of being wanted in this society. With any inconsistent communication, we misjudge others and paint portraits in negative colours. Myriad events are shaping our lives daily. Lack of communication creates a void in any relationship and there are a plethora of sources around us that can plague the void in our minds. Misunderstandings are like simmering fire that keeps burning underneath and then unleashes its wrath on the victims. The only way we can avoid this pitfall is through consistent and constant communication; by ensuring that the people we care for are on the same wavelength. Misunderstandings are an inevitable bane; let us take care to avoid them……..