The Importance of Non-Violent Communication
I truly regret having to write this particular blog post because it deals with a personal incident that very recently affected the life of a loved one as well as my own life and the lives of other close loved ones and family members. This past Wednesday evening my younger brother was involved in an altercation with an individual that lead to my brother's stabbing. My brother is now in the intensive care unit in our home town.
I live a few hours away and with money being tight, I'm not able to drive up there to visit him in the hospital.
However, I did speak with my sister for a few brief moments tonight concerning his well being, and she brought his cell phone to him where he could call if he needed to speak with any of his family members.
I unexpectedly received a phone call from him early this morning around 1 a.m.
I'm not sure how he is managing to call while in the ICU but I was relieved to hear his voice just the same.
The incident occurred while my brother was attempting to break up a "fight" with an older individual and the assailant, what they were arguing over is unclear at the moment, however I think if communication between the parties had have been handled differently this entire incident could have possibly been prevented.
It took me a few hours to come to terms with what had happened to my brother, how he was doing what he considered the right thing stepping between two individuals in the middle of a heated discussion, but had he known about non - violent communication he might have helped both individuals come to a better understanding and not been injured as a result of attempting to play mediator.
I don't blame anyone other than the person who acted in an aggressive manner and maliciously attacked another human life, my brother's.
The assailant is in jail now without bond on charges of malicious wounding where I believe he should be for his careless, dangerous behavior.
I don't care how upset you may become with another person, the moment you pick up a weapon and try to force your ideas on others, your ideas are worthless and you have overstepped your boundaries.
On the other hand, it doesn't matter who was right or wrong, or what the argument was essentially about, what's important is that my brother is recovering safely.
I think this is as good a time as any to raise the idea of non-violent communication and how we can use it in our every day lives.
After sitting for awhile with my own thoughts about the incident, the thought of non - violent communication popped into my mind, and I considered how little I know about this topic, although I have praised the technique since I first heard of it from one of Derrick Broze's skill shares he did a few years ago in Houston, Texas.
I want to take the time now to encourage others to look into this form of communication in order to possibly resolve conflicts they may be faced with in the future, and to ignite my own continuation of studying the methods and techniques of communicating effectively with others.
I find what we may be lacking in common ground can be made more understandable and often, acceptable between various individuals if we are only willing to listen to them with an open -mind, respect their thoughts, feelings, and viewpoints.
I would also like to share a few links that I think would be helpful for anyone who is interested in non-violent communication. I am going to introduce these concepts to my brother and other family members as soon as it's feasible to do so, in hopes that they may gain some better conflict solving techniques so that if he (or they) is ever faced with such situations again he will have some idea how to steer the situation in a way that doesn't lead to violent ends.
The Center of Non - Violent Communication - https://www.cnvc.org/
Conflict Resolution and Non - Violent Communication - http://www.nonviolentcommunication.com/aboutnvc/conflictresolution.htm
Non - Violent Communication Workshop -
Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life - https://www.amazon.com/Nonviolent-Communication-Language-Life-Changing-Relationships/dp/189200528X
The world in which we live is ever increasingly chaotic and in seeing this, I think we should place emphasis of learning how to be better peacekeepers, to communicate effectively with one another, and learning how to effectively listen.
It's not so important on who is right, who is wrong but that we learn how to get along with another, to become more compassionate human beings, to care for the Earth and all of her inhabitants. I'm calling on each of you this week to learn how to communicate more effectively by making an effort to practice nonviolent communication.
Thank you for taking the time to read this post, and may you have a blessed and fulfilling week.
If you enjoy this blog post, please feel free to follow, I appreciate each and every one of you.
So sorry to hear that your brother got injured! Glad to hear he's recovering. Sending healing vibes to him, you and the rest of your family. Thank you for sharing these resources. It could really make a difference.
Thanks Jeremy for the kind words and upvote. I truly appreciate it.
Wow!
This is so not cool. I'm glad your bro is recovering though.
I wondered where you had been. Life can come at you way too fast sometimes.
I agree with your ideas about nonviolent communication. It is a skill we all need to learn and put into practice.
I'm not so sure I agree about the kid who stabbed him being in jail but I can understand your feelings on the matter 100%. In an ideal agorist society the guy would be held responsible for his actions and have to pay off your brothers medical bills. He would probably also have a financial judgement against him. He injured your brother, your brother should be compensated for that.
Him being in jail is just a burden on all of us and he will likely not be rehabilitated there. In fact he is likely to become a better thug.
Tell your brother many Steemians are wishing him a speedy recovery.
Thanks for the post.
Keep Steeming!
Thanks, @wdougwatson. I found about the incident with my brother yesterday evening. I have been off of Steemit for the last couple of days, looking for work and landed a job, then found out this bad news. I'll do my best to be more active as often as I can be, though.
Thanks for adding the factors that would be present if we lived in an agorist society. The assailant very well may have to also pay for my brother's medical bills. I'm not sure how they will be paid, otherwise because I certainly don't have the means and I know my brother doesn't either.
You're right, the fella will not be rehabilitated by going to jail even though justice should be served some way for the damage incurred.
I will definitely tell him that you guys are wishing him a fast recovery! Thanks for the kind words, by the way.
Glad you found work, we all gotta eat.
Hopefully one day we can live off of upvotes. :-)
I wish I was making the top rewards, alas I am not , not yet anyways. I'm holding onto all of my SP and am considering holding onto my SBD until I can build up a considerable amount. Not about to cash out any time soon.
I'd been looking for work for weeks now, and finally landed something out of the blue. I start orientation on the 7th, so until then I'm going to do my best to be more active on the site. I'll have to check in after work when I start and can probably bring some new experiences and insight within my blogs from working.
Well, we're gonna definitely work on that, trust me. Come June i want to take as many people with me as possible. This is a real special opportunity for us all ;)
Thanks so much, @robertandrew! I'd love to see that happen in the near future. I certainly could use the help. =)
Whatever we make, it is all free money. :-)
Speaking of that, I paid 1 Steem to sponsor you for @steembasicincome so they will upvote all your posts from now on. You can increase the amount by sponsoring others. The cost is 1 Steem per person you sponsor. Not a bad deal really, especially if you post regularly. Check em out.
I also added you to my autovote list on SteemAuto. So when it works, it should autovote your posts after 30 mins. I'll try to keep a check though, cuz it doesn't always work.
Thanks so much, I will definitely keep this in mind from now on and I did notice that I gained a vote from @steembasicincome. If you'd like you can give me directions on how to sponsor someone and I'll give it a try. I have someone I'd like to sponsor in mind.
its easy. send 1 steem to @steembasicincome with the name of the person you want to sponsor in the memo. Be sure to send Steem not SBD.
I am sorry to hear about your brother and family for having to go through something like that. It is extremely scary. I hope he recovers soon. I appreciate that you turned a negative event into a learning lesson. It truly is important for everyone in this world to learn how to communicate with out becoming violent. Violence is too common and honestly too scary. Learning to better communicate and stay calm will help everyone. Thank you for sharing this.
Thanks for taking the time to comment, and you're right we all need to know how to communicate with one another effectively and how to diffuse conflicts before they escalate. I am glad I was introduced to the concept of non-violent communication a while back from watching skill shares such as the one mentioned in my post. I think it would be a worthwhile venture to start up local skill shares such as this because it would help others to understand how our communications can be improved thusly improving our relationships with others.
I agree! I think that is an excellent idea
I'm glad you agree.
hey @nexusvortex I'm so sorry what happened to your brother. It is good he is recovering.
And the issue you bring up of non-violent communication is sooo important.
Many of us take it for granted but too many ..well they do not know anything else.
So we need to teach this starting at a young age.
Again, thanks. Resteemed :)
Thanks Robert for the kind words, I truly appreciate them especially at this trying time in my life. I'm still a bit shaken up after hearing the news this evening. I don't live in the same city as my siblings so I wish I could be at his bedside but am able to speak to him via telephone which is better than nothing right now. I hope to be able to see him soon, and was honestly thankful to hear his voice early this morning.
I'm a bit saddened to see that people feel the need to resort to violence in conflicts and that's what brought the idea of non-violent communication to my mind moments ago. I wanted to express in this blog that it might be helpful to others, including my brother and myself when dealing with others in everyday life situations.
Thank you for your considerate comment, and I agree it is vital that we begin teaching younger human beings early on in life the concept of non-violent communication.
Thank you for resteeming, I truly appreciate it.