“U”nderstanding « Health Now, Wealth Forever

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By Gary, on May 21st, 2013

If “S” is for Strawberry T” is for Thiamine then:

“U” is for Understanding

 

Definition of UNDERSTANDING

1: a: mental grasp: comprehension 2: a: the power of comprehending; especially: the capacity to apprehend general relations of particulars b: the power to make experience intelligible by applying concepts and categories 3: a: friendly or harmonious relationship b: an agreement of opinion or feeling : adjustment of differences c: a mutual agreement not formally entered into but in some degree binding on each side  

This week I saw a bumper sticker that read “Common Sense is Not-so-Common Anymore”.

This word or concept of understanding baffles me.  Why?

Well, it seems to me that we can’t come close to accomplishing it.  Looks to me like:

Different languages keep us from understanding each other. Different religions keep us from understanding each other. Different careers keep us from understanding each other. Different politics keep us from understanding each other. Different genders keep us from understanding each other. Different ages keep us from understanding each other. Different life experiences keep us from understanding each other. Different belief systems keep us from understanding each other. Different economic levels keep us from understanding each other. Different sexual orientations keep us from understanding each other. Etc.

Even if we grew up together and learned the same things, spoke the same vernacular, believed the same religious views and politics, we would have something in our lives happen and we wouldn’t understand each other.

A lot of the time, our choices lead us to not even want to understand someone with differing views.  (We know who we are.)

There are several books, seminars, and training aids to develop understanding.  However, the very small area intersecting with the circle of listening and with the circle of revealing is the very small area of “understanding”.  No matter how much you listen or how much you reveal, the amount of understanding remains small.

This post seems to be negative, but let me tell you that when you reach the state of nirvana called understanding, it is life changing.

The noblest pleasure is the joy of understanding.

– Leonardo da Vinci

References:

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/understanding