I am exhibiting a piece called shared Meaning in an upcoming Springboard exhibition for first year students at the University I attend here in Brisbane, QLD. The theme is around Communication and Connection which found an easy resting place for me after years of working in education, helping children communicate more effectively.
Regardless of how information, communication comes to us; the understanding of meaning is the vital connection. Finding that shared meaning is an organic process that links multiple centres of the brain and sorts through past experience and knowledge to find understanding. In some ways it is a negotiated process and one of trust.
The initiator has to trust the receiver will ‘get’ what they mean. Intention does not always mean that is how it turns out. The initiator must trust the receiver will clarify what they understand and make sure in their knowing of the them that it is true to the source. There is a vast difference between seeing and knowing another through their eyes and values than interpreting it as if I am in their shoes.
So, in this world of technology and faceless communication nothing can replace the human connection in any exchange. For better or worse this is the place our life together as a species has brought us. It is our challenge as a species committed to a common life that we choose the engagement of listening for meaning rather than just for responding.
…shared Meaning…..
Click this link to visit the exhibition opening event: