Today I talked on my cell phone. I emailed my mother…and called her too. I “instant messaged” my assistant. I put envelopes in the mail box. I read 20-30 emails and answered them by email, phone, and even jotted notes. I checked my voice mail, checked my schedule, called another president, wrote myself a note, talked with fellow “cooks” at Durley Camp ending the All-College Hike. I started that hike by shouting “Ready, Set, Go” to 300 students and read the logo on this year’s hike T-shirt. I wrote a letter to victims in New York City, watched the TV news updates on that tragic event, and heard the speculation on who would be our allies in bringing justice. I surfed the web for quotes from Winston Churchill and the meaning of “feckless.” I watched the weather radar. I published on the web, pictures of my friends taken Sunday at the Botanic Gardens, and even dropped off printed copies under their doors. I sat on a bench talking with faculty, students, and hugged my niece. I waved at students riding, running, and walking, listened while one read me his poem about Walkabout that sounded like a poem about our country and our college. I wore a “cat in the hat” hat that said, “Take me to your leader.” I began the day reading a devotional and praying to the Lord. I talked with my wife and even kissed her!
All of this is communication. How ironic that despite the increasingly
more and more sophisticated tools available, it seems communication
remains as much a challenge as it has ever been. We talk but are not
heard. We write but are not understood. We listen but misinterpret.
We act but send mixed messages. We look but don’t see. It is no news
that communication is often a matter of decision, usually a decision
about attitude. I have seen children and elderly communicate and be
understood despite barriers of both verbal and body language. Usually
it is in the context of love and trust. When people love and trust, it
takes little to be understood and terrible tragedies are avoided. But
when people hate and mistrust, all the communication skill, technology,
and sophistication will be in vain.
This week, events in New York and Washington remind us of the tragic
dearth of communication among peoples of our world. But that dearth
sadly often also exists in our institutions, our friendships, and even
in our families. The solution cannot be only an increase of skill and
effort as important as these may be. The solution can only arise from
changes of attitude as we make decisions to love and trust. But those
decisions largely exceed our human ability to perform. They can occur
because our heavenly Father has communicated His love to us in the gift
of his Son. As we receive this gift, the power of His Holy Spirit
enables us to love and trust. Then true communication begins.
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