I Want a Yacht!

“Every act of communication is a miracle of translation.”

__Ken Liu

Okay, buckle up…here comes a “Papa story” and we all know that papa stories can go off the rail quickly!

Earlier this month, my daughter and her three children spent a few days with us and I was standing at the kitchen counter filling a bowl with ice cream for my youngest grandchild—Ruby. 

She looked up at me and said, “I want a yacht.”

I still struggle some with interpreting her words, but this one I understood clearly.  What she meant was, “I want a lot.”

A chip right off the old papa block!

Every day we do this…(no, not eat ice cream…if we hope to live for a while)…every day we translate.

People say things—even hurtful things—but we know what they really mean.  We can choose to respond in a like manner, we can get offended, or we can take into account what they really meant. 

Sometimes in the heat of the moment, sometimes when dealing with the pressures of life we all say and do things that our best self would have never said or done. It is to our credit when we choose to be a translator instead of a martyr and react according to what we know they really meant. 

Of course, there are other people who throw darts of insults and put-downs at you disguised in humorous barbs, and innuendos.  You know what they really mean.  But usually the best response is to not dignified their low blows by acknowledging them.

This is where the wise translator just plays dumb and doesn’t take the bait.  Why lower yourself to the level of mean-spirited people?  You take the high road.

Of course this can be frustrating, but a good way to get over it is with an occasional bowl of ice cream.  And when you do, spoon out a yacht. 

The ONE THING for today: What people say and how they say it is not always what they mean.  A wise person understands and translates the heart, not the words.