What’s in your thought balloons?

I grew up wanting to draw comics for a living.  I couldn’t imagine anything more fun than sitting at my drafting table drawing cartoons, putting my thoughts in their heads and my words in their mouths, and getting paid for it.  Well, we can see that didn’t work out!  There were some mid-course changes in my life that led me first to book design, then into pastoral ministry.  But my love for comics and cartoons never diminished, even if that never became my career.

One thing I love about comics is we can see what people are really thinking  through the use of thought balloons.  No matter what the characters are saying, we can get to the truth because the cartoonist gives us the insight through their use of thought balloons.

© Six Chix

I often wish we could see the thought balloons people have – not to invade their privacy or discover their secrets – but to get clarity of what others are really thinking.  This is certainly true when it comes to clarifying our expectations and moving toward synthesis, or mutual agreement.  As both of us vocalize our expectations, we may think we are saying the same thing, only to discover farther down the line our similar language carried two different sets of meaning, and our agreement wasn’t as clear as we intended.

Recently I have sat in as a moderator for three groups who were working toward some form of agreement.  These were all fine people, with the best of intentions and motives, yet it became clear their expectations were  different.  Previous conversations had left these groups thinking they were on the same page, but when one of the groups began acting upon the agreement they believed was in place, it quickly became clear there was not real agreement at all.  Hence the need for this multi-group discussion which served to clear the air and clarify where the confusion began.

In the world of comic strips we have the benefit of the thought balloons so we, the readers, can see what others are really thinking.  In real life, we have to do it without the benefit of our thought balloons.  No wonder I wanted to be cartoonist!

© Brian F. Reynolds  BFRspace 2011

“What do you expect? The question you need to ask!” is now available in paperback for $20 (Can) from Scarlet Cord Press (www.scarletcordpress.com).

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