Ears

Tonight, I've decided, I'd quite like bigger ears. Ears big enough not only to catch Khmer words and filter them to my brain, but to tune into English words too and the accents and cultures that carry them.

This comes after mishearing someone in a meeting and going off on a rant, only to find out they weren't being off with anyone, just making a quip about the air-conditioning. When the moment of realisation came, I did, indeed, feel a complete prat.

Misunderstandings of various kinds are a regular occurence here. It's something that's often joked about. It comes with being among people from all over the place, from all walks of life, with all kinds of stories. Most of the time it's funny. Sometimes it's not.

What it's teaching me is to look for the intention behind the words and not to react so quickly. Or to take things so personally. Hmmmmmmmmmm.

So ears. Wide ears that embrace words and make sense of them quickly. Sharp ears that grasp truth and cut through all the crap. And free ears that dance with all the nuances and quirks that come their way. Ears like that would be good.