Hopelessly Dense

I spent some time this evening reviewing handouts for one of our last sessions on nonviolent communications. This subject has completely failed to connect with me, both then and now. About as close to "getting it" as I've gotten is the recognition of a section on "faux feelings," that is to say, judgments masquerading as feelings, in part because I can well remember some of them being used on me in the past.

One of the most egregious examples was an instance where some girlfriends and I went to the Winter Olympics in Utah, and one of our party decided that she didn't want to participate in one day's sessions. Now, the Olympics were spread out all over central Utah, and even though some of us had cell phones, it wasn't easy to stay connected. Due to the crowds, we missed our planned rendezvous, and later, the friend reported feeling abandoned, which mightily ticked the rest of us off. I hadn't fully realised at the time why I was angry, and now I know.

I guess I'll have to hold on to that nugget of learning for now, and hope that the rest of my communications style is up to par.