Tomorrow morning
you will wake up
and either one of two
things will have happened.
Either every time you speak
no one will know
what you are saying
no matter what
or
you will not be able
to understand them
no matter how they
try to communicate with you.
Which possibility do you find
more frightening?
Which is more important to you–to have people understand what you are saying or to understand what is being said?
This is a really interesting question and the longer I think about it, the more it becomes clear for me: I would it find less horrible to be still understood. I would hope to find a way of learning their signs and language one time. Of course, this is about control – I would have to learn something new, I would have to decide how much effort I put in the communication. I would not depend on the efforts of others to understand me. I would not depend on the interest of others in me. It’s about trust. It’s about… Read more »
generally, I like to know that I am heard, understood, and validated. BUT IN A WORLD… where I couldn’t understand other people, I think I’d be in danger. Something tells me I wouldn’t live as long. Nobody could warn me of anything; no doctor could prescribe me medication. Granted, it would completely suck that nobody could understand me, but I feel not being able to understand anybody ever would result in a meaningless existence where I would be incredibly vulnerable. That frightens me more than not being understood totally annoys me.