COMMUNICATION

You know that Elvis song, 'Multiplication', well here is my version:

..."Communication; that's the name of the game.
It's between lots of nations; and the rules aren't the same"...

Theoretically, on these English-speaking blogs we all understand and use the same language. The facts, however, are very different and I never cease to be amazed at the range of interpretations there are for things said.

By writing on the seedsavers blog I want to do 2 things only - make people think about what they are doing and make people want to grow some of their own food. That's it. This is easy when I just talk about my garden. If I have some gardening ideas to express I usually try to be very clear that these are just my views and others may or may not agree with them or find them useful. It is when I go outside the square and explore deeper ideas and issues that it becomes obvious that all English isn't the same.

Maybe my thoughts are not well enough formulated to come across with the same meaning to everyone. Usually I am writing as I am collecting the thoughts in my head, with only the topic being pre-meditated. I find that writing stimulates ideas more than anything else. I will often spend an hour or even 2 writing one post and getting it all sounding how I think it will be best understood. Rarely do I stop mid-stream and once finished I often have it on my mind all day and come back to it a few times to change a word here and little bits there. If you are the first person to read it once I click publish, you would find that 12 hours later it may have changed and had things added to make it clearer.

Despite all this effort, some comments indicate to me that communication between the nations has caused some misunderstandings that I cannot easily fix. This is very disappointing. Maybe people don't spend enough time thinking about what I am trying to say before they comment or maybe they skim through it, thinking they know what I am saying, without actually reading it properly. I wish I could sit down over a coffee and chat to people at such times and I am very, very sure that we could then better understand each other.

Should I care if this problem arises from time to time? That is the question.....After all, I can write what I like and am not trying to please anyone. No-one has to comment, it is their choice. I want people to have other opinions and I want to read them and I look forward to them. However, I don't want anyone to misunderstand me. That's a personal cut and is an uncomfortable feeling and it stays with me for days (and nights). It makes me want to stop writing down my thoughts and just stick to stories about my garden, like most other people do.

The fact that I can't fix the problem is irritating. The more I have said in the past the worse it gets. So, what then? I don't want to say sorry; its not my fault, I just wrote down my ideas as best I could. On the other hand I am very sorry the misunderstanding has happened. Very, very sorry and sad. It is darn hard to just drop it and move on. I sure as hell don't know the answer.