Meats for Particular People

I went to this butchers last week and as I sat outside, the sign made me laugh! Either the meat is particular or the people are — either way, such an interesting statement to make!

Language matters. The words we say and the way that we say them. Now you are reading this and because it is just written form, I have to work out how to communicate sarcasm without a slight smirk or excitement without wide eyes.

With the increase of sophistication we now find in AI technology, we can make our written and spoken words communicate more than what we could before. But AI cannot be you in the places you are in. AI cannot be me in a team meeting when I am randomly asked my opinion. There is still a responsibility for our own behaviour. We are responsible for our own words, either written or spoken. We are responsible for our facial expressions, our body language and our tone.

That may feel really weighty and a lot of effort.

But whether we are thinking about it or not, our language impacts others.

We are all existing, side-by-side, with invisible pain and joy. Different ways of seeing and being in the world that we find ourselves in.

A safe place for you may be an untrustworthy place to me. A way of communicating that seems efficient to me may cause you anxiety.

Don’t get me wrong here, it isn’t like we can spend our whole day shape shifting for others and changing our own personality. It is a kindness. A kindness to consider another and to be curious about how they are responding or what they may be feeling.

So consider one person that you could be curious about wherever you are — your sibling at home, your colleague on Teams, your friend via WhatsApp.

One particular person.

Jess