People’s minds are messy.
In many things involving both our understanding
And the way we explain that understanding
We are fuzzy and imprecise and technically incorrect
In some regards, even if not in every regard.
And further, we can hardly seem to keep ourselves
From making some side-messes along the way
To expressing ourselves.
That is, either by the imperfections of our reasoning processes,
Or by the interjections of our imperfect emotions,
We often offer up extraneous material
In our communications,
Such as would expose our errors in understanding,
Our attitudes,
And our biases and frustrations—
Leaving the reader or listener
To sort through all that extra material
In addition to whatever things we think
Are the central facts.
Woe to those who try to understand us!
Rare is the human who will think it
Worthwhile to clean up his or her understanding in the first place.
And rarer still, the one who will think
To have mercy on the listener
By seeing to it that he communicates his understanding
Precisely and efficiently and correctly in every regard.
And the communication of it,
Such that it is precise and efficient and correct
In every regard.
And if someone has matured to the point
Of finding such to be a worthy goal,
He or she still must mature to the point
Of being able to execute it well
Most of the time.
The best among us are still messy—
At least sometimes.
And contrary to popular opinion,
It is no sin to point out a mess—
Just as it is no sin to clean up after oneself.
I, for one, don’t want to believe
Or to say or to write
Anything that is not completely true.
That’s my paradigm.
And I’m still about the business
Of learning to put it consistently into practice—
And of helping my friends,
As I am able,
To do the same.
