Communication

 I just had a thought today about communication between people.  It was like a lightbulb moment in understanding that we communicate on a deepest level with others just by being ourselves and sharing our own genuine thoughts, experiences and stories.  People tend to be a lot more closed and private than this though (especially with those we don’t know well) for fear of appearing unintelligent, incapable and foolish or of being misunderstood and not fully appreciated, or of not wanting to reveal things about themselves that we don’t want others to know.  When people have a sense of humor about themselves and are more open to sharing genuine things about themselves and their experiences, they put others at ease and make them feel more comfortable and inclined to do the same.  I suppose I already knew all of this, but I was just thinking about what genuine communication really means.  This doesn’t mean that people shouldn’t guard their own privacy when they feel that it is necessary and appropriate, but it does mean that this is the means by which people forge real and truly meaningful connections with each other.