Just wanted to mention how I also really take this quote to heart:
"Seek first to understand, then to be understood."
I'd heard a similar version of it during high school, when we had a guest speaker in the auditorium. She was a woman from Hiroshima, who had faced the effects of the atomic bomb over 60 years ago. Despite the terrible situation she was put in and the inhumane treatment she received, she told us how she believed in the belief "to understand than to be understood." This quote continued to echo within my mind, and so I looked it up later on. I learned that it was from a prayer by Mother Teresa in her "Prayer for Peace". I really look up to this quote and I think it's one of the incentives which have gotten me interested in the whole idea of "coexistence," and which have led me to ICU, as a result. I am still far from realizing this concept, but I'd like to keep this at the core of myself.
I also look up to this quote.
ReplyDeleteHowever I tend to seek to be understood before trying to understand, because it is easier.
It must be difficult to practice,but I'll try. I'd like to respect others and their ideas.
Thank you,
Hi, Kaya.
ReplyDeleteI also feel "oh, this sentence is nice" in the previous class, but thanks to this blog post, I could think about it deeper.
Your blog post helped me to understand the sentence not only by the context of good negotiation, but also by the context of how to live together with others.
I was also impressed by Mother Teresa when I was junior high school student, so I'm so glad to know that she had mentioned about this sentence.
Thank you for your nice post, Kaya^^
See you on Monday!
Maika
Hi Kaya,
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting on this idea, and I am so glad that Waka chose to do her presentation on this concept as well. When Bill Harshbarger came to the ELP after a worldwide search for a professional director, he made this same statement in his first speech to us all. He was referring to how he would deal with the needs of the program, and he dedicated his first year to learning about the program before trying to make any changes.
Ken