Colada

A drink of Knowledge Wisdom and Change

"Each man (is) the architect of his own fortune."

Appius Caecus

UNDERSTANDING

"Listen a hundred times. Ponder a thousand times. Speak ONCE."            unknown

     Have you every told someone how to do something, so clearly that you knew that even a two year old would not have any trouble understanding you? And they did the opposite of what you said. Have you ever been on the other side, when you know that you followed the direction to the letter, and the BOSS, said that you did it WRONG, THAT YOU DID NOT LISTEN?

     WHY IS THIS SO? Are we not smarted then the dog or the elephant and how about those monkeys? (see pass COLADAS) The answer is SOMETIMES NO WE ARE NOT.

     If you came to this country and did not speak English, and I showed you two chairs, and said 'GOOD BY, PULL UP A BOAT AND LAY ON THE TABLE', and I pulled out a chain and helped you sat down, after a few time you would pull up a chair and sit down without my help.

     No doubt, if I was to go to your house, you would more then likely say 'GOOD BY, PULL UP A BOAT AND LAY ON THE TABLE' as you pulled out a chair for me to sit down on.

     Now I can invite you to my house all the time, and have my friends over so they too can laugh when I say 'good by, pull up a boat and lay on the table' and you sat down on the chair. We could have a great time UNTIL someone (the little boy telling the KING he did not have on any clothes, another COLADA) tells you the TRUTH.

    Since you did not know English, you would have to decide if, I was not a good person, or I did not know any better myself, or I told you this because as you interacted with other people you saw that 'is the way we always do it.' BUT what do you think would happen if NO ONE TOLD YOU THE TRUTH? And more importance what is the TRUTH?

     You see TRUTH and UNDERSTANDING, UNDERSTANDING and TRUTH are but the same side of the coin. Did we get to the point. 'What are you talking about Jack, a little earlier this time.'

     From the time we get up to the time we go to bed (and sometimes in our sleep) our auto pilot (pass COLADA) is working using our UNDERSTANDING of the TRUE to do get things done or to move from point A to point B. This is the way we see the world, the way we interact with other people. The way it is, our UNDERSTANDING. We UNDERSTAND the world through the WINDOW of OUR MIND.

     The word for this is PARADIGM, and the meaning is the way each person sees the word, not necessarily the the way it is in reality. THIS IS A MAP, NOT THE TERRITORY. This is our VIEW framed from our upbringing and cumulative experience and CHOICES we have made in the past, our WINDOW.

     Take a minute and look around you today at WINDOWS, and you will see some are dirty, some have screens, some have bars, some have bars screens and are dirty. Some are dark, some are block by tress, or other things, some are open and some are closed some high some low. The view from the inside of all those windows will not be the same nor is view from the inside of other people's mind.

     I know you have heard, 'seeing the world through rose colored glasses' or 'if only (past COLADA) he/she/they would see through my eye, he/she/they would see the TRUE,' if he/she/they did not have a closed mind, they would see the TRUE,' or how about I am trying to understand your point of view, BUT I do not see the same thing. (I saw a bumper sticker that said; I am trying to see thing from your point of view, but I can not stick my head that far up my A...) I would say someone had a bad case of HUB.

     In the book ART OF WAR, over 2400 years ago, Sun Tzn wrote, "If the installations are not clear and commands not explicit, then it is the commander's fault, however if the orders are clear then it is the fault of the offices." It is also written in may places, 'that to be understood you must first understand.'

     Since you are the CEO of YOU, INC (past COLADA) and you may or may not be at war with your kids/boss/employees/better half, it may just seem like it. You are a LEADER, and to get thing done you have to have someone UNDERSTAND YOU.

     You need to go inside, and look out their WINDOW, to UNDERSTAND them (you do not have to agree with their view), but, by looking from their view, you may be able to help them to see things from another point of view, or why you should change yours.

     This may also be a very good time to look at some of your VIEWS, does you

     WINDOW need to be clean? Are there things blocking your VIEW? Did someone or something pull the shades down, or put up bars? Is your VIEW fuzzy?

     William James, said "Each of US literally chooses, by his way of attending to things, what sort of universe he shall appear to himself to inhabit."

                                                               Jack Boston