Dialectics

I have been fascinated for years at where a conversation will lead. An idea is put forward and expounded upon... sometimes it's rational discussion; at other times, personal emotions enter the equation causing people to argue. There goes the discussion... the learning curve as we are subjected to irrational behavior. We lose our ability to be rational once we allow our emotions to rule. Thus the reason Spock was so intriguing to many of us. I recall wondering if I could eliminate emotion from my life, would I be able to handle situations so calmly and elegantly as Mr Spock. What I learned watching Star Trek is that human emotion has a lot of redeeming qualities too. It fires an individual to follow a belief, to make changes.

So at what point in that conversation does the discussion lose any promise to teach us something? Well, it doesn't ... If we separate our personal feelings towards the people's personalities and listen to what they are actually saying, we get some insight. Sometimes the lesson for us is going to be as simple as how we don't ever want to act ourselves. Sometimes we observe behavior that is incomprehensible. After all, we thought we knew the people involved and how is it that they destroyed a perfectly logical and interesting conversation. The truth is, they haven't destroyed it. They have shown us a path; their own anger has fueled them to passionately interject into a conversation without thought as to how others might perceive them. While you might change your opinion about the individuals involved, don't lose sight of the twists and turns that conversation made.


Next time that subject arises, you are going to have some insight into where the conversation could go. It could be a different set of individuals and this time, you might be ready to learn something that was not on the table before.

Life is a learning curve... don't overlook the shadows, simply because the sun shines so bright.

( Photos were from 2009... a drive to Tarra Bulga National Park)