Internal Inconsistencies.

We communicate with each other in many different ways. There's the main one, which is talking. Then there's various signals we can use, if we can't hear/see each other. Writing, if we're a long distance away. But then there's some more unconscious ones; facial expressions, body language - these are very much a form of communication too, and often ones that are used more regularly. Sitting in a different way might mean that you're uncomfortable with the company; a quick downturn of the mouth may mean that you disagree with what people are saying. We have many different methods of getting our message across.

But very often, these messages can be very mixed, confused. We get internal inconsistencies. I look at you, and you look sick, but when I ask you, you say that you're fine. You're telling me one thing, but you're body language is telling me something different. And that can be very distressing to a person, sometimes - they think a person's not doing to well because of how they acted, but they said they were fine. Which is right? What should they do? It can leave a person in a very difficult position.

Of course, furthering the problem is the case that sometimes the person in whom the internal inconsistencies reside is blissfully unaware. They actually think they're fine. And so then it becomes a problem of sorting these instances out from the others, as well as the previous problem of deciding which communication to believe. I think the important thing here is honesty. If a person asks if you're OK, that means they're probably worried about you. Chances are, just saying "Oh, I'm fine," probably won't relieve it that much; even if that is the truth, something a bit more in-depth could quite well save them a lot of worry.

As an aside, I'll be going away to Easterfest (which is this music thing up in Toowoomba), so I'll be away from Wednesday to next Monday. Hence, my next two posts I'll be doing ahead of schedule, and automating them to be posted on those days. And, being Easter, I think they'll be themed appropriately. Though, being me, of course, it's always going to be slightly different.