Communication: A Contact Sport

Let me start this out by reflecting on the song Tumbling Tumbleweeds by the Sons of the Pioneers.

“See them tumbling down
Pledging their love to the ground
Lonely but free I'll be found
Drifting along with the tumbling tumbleweeds

Cares of the past are behind
Nowhere to go but I'll find
Just where the trail will wind
Drifting along with the tumbling tumbleweeds

I know when night has gone
That a new world's born at dawn

I'll keep rolling along
Deep in my heart there's a song
Here on the range I belong
Drifting along with the tumbling tumbleweeds

I know when night has gone
That a new world's born at dawn

I'll keep rolling along
Deep in my heart is a song
Here on the range I belong
Drifting along with the tumbling tumbleweeds”

In some respects we bees are navigating the real ground below and the digital world around us--watching all tumbleweeds of interaction, engagement and communication tumble along, sometimes in the far distance, sometimes close by, and sometimes hitting us head on along the hives and pathways of our journey(s).

Those pathways see a variety of ground below each of us wherever we may call home, wherever we may roam, wherever we may find ourselves drifting along physically or in the digital realm of the natural, spontaneous or conscientious affinities of our choosing.

Although our cares of the past may in fact be behind us, I would imagine that most of us are in some kind of search of the "nowhere’s" we are headed, the trails we will blaze or are yet to find, sometimes knowing exactly where they will lead and other times not totally understanding where they will wind. Still, we drift through our world communicating with each other one day at a time knowing that the night is near, but also knowing that a new world will be born at dawn.

As I keep rolling along, knowing that here on the global range I belong, as I thought through the song, it made me think about how Communication, is in fact a Contact Sport. As I try to impart or exchange information in the context of my global contacts and connectedness, I am also reminded that I am doing so as a mean of connecting with folks through an act or process of using words, using sounds, using signs and because of human nature, using my own behavior as a means of expressing or receiving ideas, information, thoughts and feelings about any given topic.

As a contact sport, I communicate via a variety of means. In person, on the telephone, via email, text or on sites like this one. But the essence of my communicating, interacting and engaging in each of these means to communicate is grounded in a desire to make contact and connect with people from all walks of life. Not to just abstractly meander along the ranges of our digitalness, but to truly make contact with those with whom I have the pleasure of interacting with whether we agree or disagree on any give topic or issue. When I write, I do so with a desire to make a point, make a connection and again in doing so, actually make contact.

In using communication as a contact sport, I do so with the intent of actually understanding that regardless of our differences in culture, race, ethnicity, religion, orientation, language etc…. we are in the end—humans. And by drifting along the trails of human nature, I learn new ways of thinking, feeling, and acting--independent of the influence of one culture or another.

Earlier today, Jim Murray posted a buzz that stated in part: “The posts people like to read most are those that reveal the most about the writer.” I am not sure if this post reveals what I am really feeling, if it gives any insight into me personally, is a lame attempt at metaphor, or if it is just a rambling and incoherent essay about a song that I used to listen to when I was a kid, thanks to my father. What I do know is that I want to make a difference in a world needing difference making.

So let me close by merely saying thank you to all of you bees that have made contact with me and all the rest of you and us who share common goals, who have chosen hives where we formally, informally or by sheer will or desire belong.  Keep making contact in your communication and press ahead—making a difference one person-one step—one substantive conversation at a time.