This week, I posted an update re a Maltese current affair, on my Facebook Page.

It wasn’t welcome too nicely, mostly because it is a delicate issue. Admittedly, it was written a bit too much in my style: blunt. But with hindsight everyone’s a genius, as they say. What’s done is done. The important thing – and that is what I want to share with you today – is the lesson learnt from it. The lesson I learned from it.

Basically, this post had me privately message some of those who commented on my post. Firstly, I tend to know (even subconsciously) that I have a way of writing and talking which is, more often than not, blunt. That has, not for the first time, resulted in me having to clarify myself further, if not ask for an apology to my fellow readers, critics and commentators.

Yesterday’s post was not so different, and I soon found myself privately chatting with one of my commentators. But this one didn’t go the lane of me trying to explain myself, or losing all sense of my or their opinion in the process. Even though we saw things differently, and we disagreed on almost everything – even by the end of the chat – it was peaceful, civilised… and very enlightening, personally.

It was conversation.

See, how often do we have conversation, nowadays? I’m not talking about the kind of conversation where you do share the same opinion, political or religious views (those are easy). I’m talking about conversation where you don’t; those in which a final agreement may not be reached as easily, yet the end is still not filled with offensive and shitty comments.

A quick look around us easily tells us that, despite how much humanity has progressed, there’s room for much improvement. A lot of current conversation ends in frowns, anger, patriotism, liberalism, discrimination and worst of all: ignorance. Unfortunately, most ‘conversation’ is like a comedy which you can sit, watch and enjoy alongside a bowl of popcorn.

I am not pointing fingers. I preach to myself first and foremost, because yesterday’s post served me as a lesson and a reminder that real conversation can exist. And most of the time, it exists outside the boundaries of those comfortable shoes we wear, if only we are ready to take them off and tackle discussion, points, and topics that challenge those comfortable lives we all so tediously lead.

If only! If only we could have real conversation like these more often! Oh, how much society and humanity would progress then.

Photo by Kawtar CHERKAOUI on Unsplash