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Communication breakdown.

What do you do when you and friend disagree, or have different opinions about something? Well, I bet we could chart it on a rubric or scale:

Anger

I think the word anger is not exactly the right word; it could be anger, but it could also be awkwardness, disappointment, etc., something a little milder than ‘anger.’ Anger, as well as all of the others, can be forgotten and forgiven. Example, your friend takes your last piece of gum out of your purse without asking. No real biggie, right? However, later a really cute boy walks up to you to ask you to the movies, and your breath could peel paint off the walls. You reach into your purse to get the gum, and it’s not there, but the empty package is, and he gets a whiff of your stinky breath and asks her for the date instead. You’re going to have to decide for yourself how upset you will become, for how long, and whether or not to forgive and forget. Now, turns out the dude is a total creep and she did you a favor, although by accident. (When that happens. it’s irony.)

So, I’m facing some tough choices now, and I know many of my friends don’t agree with me. I know that many do. And I agree with the ones who don’t agree with me, and disagree with the ones who do. If you’re scratching your head in confusion, that’s okay and normal.  (That’s called paradox: paradox means something that doesn’t seem like it could be true but it is.)

We can never say all that we feel or think. If we did, we’d wear ourselves out and our friends would run for the hills. The thinking and feelings get all jammed up and nothing meaningful gets said, or heard. Sometimes the best thing to do is just keep quiet. The forgetting and forgiveness will come.