communication g.a.p.

last week, i met with the senior council (i’m adviser of student body organization in school) to finalize our plans for an upcoming activity this july. we completed the program, the lineup of speakers and managed to reserve the venue. all the kids needed to do was to write letters to the parents/teachers/speakers to invite them to the said event. ok. we had 20 minutes to spare. so they took out a piece of paper and started writing:

The Senior Council is planning will hold a pre-UPCAT event gathering this coming on July 31, 2007 (Tues) at from 5:30-7:30pm ..

that’s about as far as they got. ‘coz before we knew it, 20 minutes were up; and they all had to go to their classes. so i ended up writing the letters, instead. and i made a mental note to hold a special meeting just to teach them basic letter writing skills ü

* * *

the other day, my 4-year old “playmate” carlo held out his hand to me and said, “tita, dirty na hands ko. penge nung mabango.” i stared blankly at him for about 15 seconds, not getting exactly what he meant. then he repeated his request, “tita, ung binubuhos sa kamay.. ung malamig kapag ni-blow mo..” oh. that. haha. it took me a while to understand that he was asking me to put some rubbing alcohol on his dirtied hands.

* * *

“ate, sabi ng mama mo bumili ka daw ng soup” our maid told me one day. ok. so i went to the grocery before heading home and bought some instant soup. when i went inside the house to give mom her soup, she says to me, “o anak, nakabili ka ba ng sabon?” great. my mom wanted SOAP.. not SOUP.. hayyy..

* * *

miscommunication. it happens to all of us: there’s something we want to say. we try to put it into words. we do our best to express ourselves clearly. but sometimes we just aren’t able to. we choose the wrong words. we mispronounce our phrases. we make grammatical errors. our ideas get all muddled up. we get confused. others get confused. sometimes they even get annoyed or offended. nobody understands *exactly* what we mean (including ourselves). we get frustrated.. and eventually give up.

there are times when i think i say my prayers wrong. i start out with a “dear god, thank you for..” but i end up telling him about my gripes, my fears, my tampo, etc. sometimes i pour out my “sobstory” - ranting about some injustice done to me. at other times (especially while i’m stuck in traffic), i find myself rambling to god about my hectic day.. or about the weird happenings in school or in the choir. or about how nervous i am about an upcoming observation.

and there are those other times, when i’m tired and flustered.. or when i’m upset and feeling hurt, the opposite happens. i can’t find any words to say to him. and all i could do is sit in a corner of my room and mope. or cry. and i’d *really* try to start praying.. but i couldn’t. ‘coz no words.. no thoughts would come.

but there’s one thing i’ve learned through the years: whether i’m babbling like an idiot (telling god about my kwentos and sumbongs) or quiet as a mouse, there is no communication gap between me and the lord ü my choice of words, my grammar/pronounciation.. they don’t really matter to him. ‘coz he knows my needs.. how i feel.. better than i do. he knows what i will say.. what i will ask for.. even before i say anything at all!

it’s great how he understands me - words or no words. all i have to do is show up and meet him. and he’s happy ü yup. it’s so true.. god appreciates perfectly ü