Take a look at the following drawing depicting people walk around on different platforms of various heights. If you understand this diagram, you understand what I'm referring to here by people are on different levels of understanding of this world. A person on a certain level can always engage with those on his or her equal or lower level. For a person on a lower level to engage someone on a higher level, either someone on the higher level must jump down to the lower level or the person on the lower level must wisen up enough to permanently upgrade him or herself to the higher level.
Several examples may suffice to illustrate my point. Consider why a child is bored by "adult talk". Oftentimes, it's not that the child doesn't understand what the adults are talking about but rather that the child doesn't see its importance. I remember that when I was a kid I quickly zoned out whenever a grown-up conversation started between my parents on things such as buying school supplies, cleaning up the home, what clothes I need, etc. I mostly care about when I get to visit a good friend of mine, what books and games I can buy next, and if there's anything interesting to watch on TV. You can see how narrow and limited a typical child's perspective is.
Another example is when wise men of the world had to explain "how to live life" concepts to the average man. They almost never say whatever concept directly; instead, they depend on allegorical stories and parables to reach out to a wider audience. Clearly, most people aren't capable of understanding profound truths unless it's dumbed down to practicalities that they can understand.
The lesson here is that whenever you're communicating with someone, make sure that you can be on the same level as him or her. Note that it's much easier to go down than up, e.g. it's much easier for an adult to understand child talk than a child to understand what adults are talking about. So what does this mean? Three things:
1. Surround yourself with people that's on the same level as you if you wish to communicate easily.
2. Study and interact with those on higher levels than you to learn and "level up" eventually.
3. Interact with those on lower levels than you to bring their awareness to what's missing. This may not always work but at least it's worth some of your time. An enlightened individual should not hesitate to give understanding to the ignorant. The question is only how much time you have for such an unequivalent exchange.
Interesting!
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