What To Say When ‘Condolences’ Isn’t Enough
– manzoor
But we still must be able to talk to each other, respect each other. Not only can we disagree, we ought to disagree. Only when we disagree can we learn from each other.
I saw & read this article that was shared on Facebook – “The “Other Side” Is Not Dumb” by Sean Blanda. And my immediate reaction was – I need to let everyone know that I do NOT think you are not intelligent just because we don’t agree. I recall (though am unable to find it right now) once writing about “Agree to Disagree vs Disagree to Agree” (or something very much in that line) and the point I was trying to make is that we ought to be able to agree that we disagree about an issue / topic without any feeling of animosity towards each other. Whereas if we “disagree” to agree, we are assuming that we ought to be “agreeing”. That does not seem like a good place to begin.
– manzoor
P.S. there might be other reason(s) that will cause me to think that you are “dumb”, but our disagreeing will not be the reason. I hope the same from you towards me.
Links:
– manzoor
I reach Austin for the very first time.
Konrad Adenauer
Recently (day before yesterday) my home security system started beeping and had the “Trouble” state turned on. A quick google and a call to the number on the Alarm Monitor panel led to the possible conclusion that “battery” that is the backup in case of a power failure is probably in need of replacement.
Since it has been a while (the house was built in late ’97), the conclusion seemed very plausible and even a desired one (as opposed to whatever else it could have been).
The challenge now was:
Well . . . . it turns out the customer service person (with whom I don’t even have a service with) was very helpful and was able to give me enough clues as to where it “might” be. And it was. All I needed was a screw driver to open the panel and voila.
On the battery itself I was able to find the details of the battery and was quickly able to google where to possibly find a replacement. Most were on-line offers but I remembered “Batteries Plus” (funny that google did not show me that solution). I called them up yesterday and was able to confirm that they indeed had them in stock and was able to pick one up during “lunch”.
In my googling I already knew that the batter comes in 2 size terminals. Unfortunately I did not spend the extra time / effort to confirm exactly what size I would be needing. When I mentioned the terminal size he shrugged off and said that I could simply expand the pin that connects to use on the one he was selling me. Needless to say – he was wrong.
I found out about the wrong terminal size the hard way – by opening the panel and attempting to replace the battery. The good news here was that I knew there was another “Batteries Plus” close by and that they all were open till 8pm.
A quick run the store – again. Got the right battery with the right terminal size.
– manzoor
As a parent I find myself struggling with the idea of raising my children. OK, “struggling” might be a bit to hard – I find myself asking “am I doing it right?” Of course, I don’t even know what right is. I do try to talk to other’s but often end up arguing with people who are so sure of their methods that I find it difficult to actually have a conversation. the best conversation I have are with people who are open to other thoughts / ideas / possibilities. This is not just limited to conversation about raising children but conversations about almost any topic.
Anyway, a friend of mine once mentioned a couple of things that really stuck with me and I wanted to be sure to capture them before I forget. His first comment was:
Raising your children has 3 stages.
He also mentioned that he had 3 goals in raising his children.
– manzoor
You should regularly ask yourself and others, according to Dean James Ryan.
Late Fragment by Raymond Carver
And did you get what
you wanted from this life, even so?
I did.
And what did you want?
To call myself beloved, to feel myself
beloved on the earth.
– manzoor