I have had countless conversations with people from all generations, across many cultures and Eleanor’s sage insight into human conversation is surprisingly accurate.
We
all understand how the model works. Discussing people usually centres on who
they are, what they do, wear or say, who they hang out with and so on.
Generally such discussions are used to mindlessly pass the time or to elevate
oneself on the social ladder at the expense of others. No wonder Eleanor
Roosevelt labelled this level of discussion as being mediocre!
Next
we come to average minds who discuss events. Now there is nothing wrong with
discussing sport or politics, world events or the weather. After all such
topics often lead to some quite lively discussions, however more often than not
event based conversations end up being as changeable as, well, the weather and
depending on the dynamic of the group, average conversations will rarely spark
ideas. Average conversations will more often than not degrade to become just another mediocre
discussion revolving around the people who are involved in the events.
This
leaves us with great minds. Great minds will centre their conversation on
exploring ideas and concepts. Language such as “What if?”, “I wonder why?” or “I
have been thinking….” pepper their
conversations thereby opening up some fascinating discussions that catapult
people into the realm of possibility.
Today
was your average Friday and Eleanor’s words were far from my mind. Driving home
in the drizzling rain whilst listening discussion on the radio, my attention
was suddenly arrested by a random thought “That’s how people have conversations
with me.”
Instantly
recognising the origin of the thought, the radio was silenced and with the
sound of a wet road beneath me being punctuated by the intermittent swipe of
the windscreen wipers, I waited for the next revelation.
Snippets of conversation flowed. Agnes is so negative… Horace behaves
appallingly…. I can’t believe that so and so did, said, thinks etc. I’m so
worried about … I’m so upset because… You have to do something about the
environment, the politicians, the economy and so on. There was plenty of waffle
coming from the mediocre and average categories but very few great minded snippets
of conversation.
Of all the countless conversations I have had, it is the ones where ideas were
discussed, concepts were explored, ah ha moments were sparked and revelation was
inspired that have left an indelible mark, engendered tremendous growth
and ignited a thirst and a hunger to understand more of
things that are not just temporal but have eternal value. Such conversations
flow easily, are often filled with laughter as well as camaraderie and
generally leave one feeling energised, loved, valued and esteemed.
In that brief moment, I realised that our Heavenly Father
longs for the great mind He gave us all to rise up and begin a great minded
conversation with Him.
I hope and pray that we occasionally inspire you with our conversations. You certainly inspire us with yours.
ReplyDeleteThanks PM for your encouragement. Both you and Mrs PM are an inspiration in word and in deed. :)
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