French Dialogue

"That is the happiest conversation where there is no competition, no vanity, but a calm quiet interchange of sentiments." -Samuel Johnson

It was all we wanted, a cup of coffee from which a relaxing afternoon would melt away. It was of course in a restaurant in the French village of Senlis. Two Americans, enjoying the day and trying to traverse the French language in a way those around thought amusing.

It is said by some that the French can be rude, but I would say that can happen anywhere. The French are very nice and accomodating any time I travel to France. What I do observe is if you try to speak the language of the local area you are in, it is a respectful sign and acknowledgement to them. And so we tried, we viewed the menu and tried to say the right words in the right dialect and without sounding too foolish.

We used our intellect and could make out the words of various items on the menu. The cafe, creme brulee were easy enough and the tarte aux pomme was likely a dessert as well. Go figure, it would be the desserts that we understood most easily. Yet it was not a meal we were after, it was conversation.

In a country where you don't speak the language, all of the conversations around you are like static to the senses. You know the talk is of family, sports, business or possibly gossip. But you can not make out the words and the laughter is enticing. So you look at each other and start your own conversation, in English, in focus on each other.

I would like to think that those around us enjoyed the English language as well since it is not something they hear all that often. Two Americans, a man and woman, husband and wife talking of things close to them, of things that fill their life together.

It was a conversation that was long but was too short. That is what makes relationship with others so wonderful. It is what makes my marriage so great; the conversation between two people. A cup of coffee, a dessert and a long conversation that always seems to end too soon.

Make your conversations with others the ones each of you want to remember for a long time. Make those conversations such that you never want them to end. Make your connection with others be the type that they never want it to end.

Slice of Ireland

Greene's Restaurant - Cork, Ireland

"There are those moments when you shake someone's hand, have a conversation with someone, and suddenly your all bound together because you share your humanity in one simple moment."
-Ralph Fiennes-

Today we wrapped up our business meetings and held a grand dinner to celebrate. A local restaurant that had very good food, very good service and very good conversation.

All week we have worked together as representatives of different companies, as different nationalities and as different people. But the end result is that we worked together as a single entity. We held conversations and did those things as a group when so much could have been stacked against us.

I am not one to quote the Bible, but Matthew 18:20 reads, "For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them." What is great about this verse is that each of us had a sense of purpose for what was at hand. We were given the opportunity to achieve something and we did, it was good. The verse reminds me that if we do come together as two, three or many, then something good can come from it.

Gather those that you know whether it be family, friends, and neighbors. Sit down with co-workers or people you know from business, sports, or any other connection. When we do, the conversation will flow and good things will happen. A little slice of my Ireland experience will come upon all of you.

Conversation

"It is not what we learn in conversation that enriches us. It is the elation that comes of swift contact with tingling currents of thought." -Agnes Repplier

Day one of @EMCWorld is complete and day two is well under way. As I sit in the quiet, relaxing bloggers lounge, it contrasts with the hubbub of activity out on the floor. If you have ever been to a large conference, the number of people flowing through it can be overwhelming at times.

For breakfast most mornings, I liken it to the "Running of the Bulls". At times it seems like a narrow Spanish street filled with people and bulls running through it. Then again, I don't mean to say people are running in a mad rush of confusion. What I mean is the well directed funnelling of people into a huge banquet hall. It is an amazing feat to pull off the feeding 10,000 people.

And in that crowd of walking, picking up food, finding a chair, and eating, there is conversation. There are people talking to each other about a wide variety of subjects. Since we are in Las Vegas, many of those conversations revolve around how much someone won or lost in the casino.

Others will be giving introductions of themselves, the latest sporting event, and at a conference such as this, technology. In the high level view it may seem like just a lot of noise. But listen carefully and you will hear people connecting.

People are talking and sharing with each other. They are learning something new or reaffirming something old, but they are talking. Folks will gather new friends and also touch base with old friends. And each of these connections will advance each of us even further.

By connecting with others you gain new insight that will lift your life even higher. By connecting with others we give them something new in their life. By connecting with others we strengthen the human experience.

Connect with others and see how your life will gain from it. You may think you are adding to the noise when in fact you are actually adding to your life. Enjoy the noise.

Face to Face

"Pity may represent little more than the impersonal concern which prompts the mailing of a check, but true sympathy is the personal concern which demands the giving of one's soul.." ~Martin Luther King, Jr

Main Entry: impersonal
Part of Speech: adjective
Definition: cold, unfriendly
Synonyms: abstract, bureaucratic, businesslike, candid, cold turkey, cold-blooded, colorless, cool, detached, disinterested, dispassionate, emotionless, equal, equitable, fair, formal, impartial, indifferent, inhuman, neutral, nondiscriminatory, objective, poker-faced, remote, straight, strictly business, unbiased, uncolored, unpassioned

Every day it seems that our lives become much more impersonal with the use of email and social networks. The idea of a face-to-face conversation even is terrifying to some people. We walk around all day looking at our Blackberry or sit at dinner playing with our iPhone. I am certainly one that has to work at setting those devices down and simply talking.

An example of the impersonal nature of life comes in the form of our housing mortgage problems. Yes, you can say that many lenders and borrowers were like 'drunken sailors on shore leave' (apologies to the Navy for using this euphemism).

Everyone was lending money, everyone was borrowing money and much of it outside of their means. And when things turned sour in the economy, the worst of these were first to go. But then the people that had qualified, were making payments, were doing everything right lost a piece of the American dream.

Their hours were reduced, many lost jobs due to the economic downturn and many started to do what they could to uphold their end of the deal. The banks, the mortgage lenders, the money side of this equation started feeling the pinch as well. They were looking for any means to shore up their losses and clean up their books. So many started calling in these loans.

Now I'm over simplifying but on the surface, the cards started to fall all around many people. The worst part of it was the impersonal nature in how it was done. The form letters informing people that they were 'seriously' in arrears. The increasingly tough letters to back people up against the wall. Take it or leave it deals.

All the while, a friendly ending to each saying thank you for your attention to this matter. They even provided phone numbers that when you called would proclaim, "we value your business." All very impersonal, all very stale and no one that you could speak with face-to-face.

Now my wife and I have never fallen into this situation. But the stories we have heard, the stories we have read tell a tale of people just trying to do what is right. But those same people were getting a cold, stale look in return.

Yes, again there are those that over borrowed, those that tried to take advantage of the system. But many were just trying to achieve their dreams. And it is the impersonal nature in which lenders and mortgage holders reacted that contributed as well.

To sit down in front of someone, face-to-face and have a discussion about a situation goes much further. Tension can be the beginning, but once two people look each other in the eye, the healing begins. When you put down the phone, when you stop typing those emails, and talk; things begin to get accomplished.

All of the gadgets we have in life are fantastic and do a lot of great things for our lives. But the most important thing in life is two or more people gathered. Talking to each other, sharing a meal, sharing their lives with each other.

Think about it and then have a face-to-face conversation with someone.