Pogue,

A new week starts.

I’m back on a road trip…at last and, as the norm for road trips we started our day in a coffee shop, this time in Bamburgh. Yes I’m in Northumberland where I’ve never been and it’s only 260 miles from home but that’s a long way for an Englishman😎.

So I’m in the coffee shop and a nice lady talks to me and I have to take a moment to understand what she’d said. I mean, it’s English, but not as I know it. I reply and she considers what I’ve said to ensure she understands. It’s English but not as she knows it. Then she says, “Alright Pet”. No one has ever called me Pet! 5 hours in a car makes so much difference. Whilst saying the same thing we manage to say it differently.

Then there’s perception which is an equally strange thing. We see the same thing but manage to see it differently. It’s said one should walk in another’s shoes before passing comment on their life. I’m thinking this is so true. The experience will change your perception of that person if you’ll allow it to do so and your response will be informed. So much better.

Also strange, you and I have come to accept that your brown is, on occasion, my red. Not that we see a different colour, rather you place certain tones under one title and I under another. Fine, until I say it’s red and, having not seen it, you imagine something different from what I’m seeing.

We need to be those who make allowance for others. We receive so many subjective descriptions but each is there for us to interpret. You tell me it’s cold and yet I’m pleasantly warm. It’s is only by knowing you that I can understand what the temperature may be. You’ll be turning the heat up long before me.

Language, perception, colour, the subjective, where is all this going?🤔

Well I think I’m saying we need to work with people and make allowances in order that we can get the very best from our relationships. It’s a much better world if we work together and make room for each other. Yes, there will always be people who vex your spirit, who disrupt your peace, but a little understanding allows us to set aside judgement and maintain our integrity even as we say “Thank you, but no thank you” and walk away.

In many situations things are not right or wrong…just different. Let’s learn the distinction. Now where was that nice lady with the different accent and my coffee, Pet?

Wic.