This last week, my family and I finally completed our move across town. But perhaps ‘completed’ is too strong of word — there’s still a lot of unpacking to do.
Having gone through this process a couple times now, it seems like only 10% of it is actually ‘moving’ things — i.e. loading them in a truck, driving to the destination, and unloading them there — and 90% of it is packing and unpacking. And depending on who you are, and your personality, the unpacking stage could last for weeks, months, or even years.
The whole process reminds me of how communication works. We pack the meaning we want to convey into these boxes called words and then send them wherever we want. And although the sending and receiving of these containers may take only an instant, unpacking and sorting out the meaning inside can take time and effort.
The tricky thing is that two different people may use the exact same boxes but fill them with different meanings. Which means that if we want to accurately understand what they’re trying to communicate, we need to open up the box and make sure we know what’s actually inside.
Assuming you know what’s inside based on your experience with someone else may be easier, but it can also lead to missing what is actually being sent.