The importance of communication.

There are two sides to every story. Many a time, we dwell on one side because that story seems more credible or the details are just juicer coming from one side. We forget that the other characters in the story also have their version of the story until we hear it from them whether voluntarily or not.
We see things and jump to a conclusion based on what we see without finding out what really happened. Just because you see a a man hold a woman in a threatening position does not mean he is beating her. What happened before he was forced to hold her in such a position? Did she slap him across the face or scratch him until he was bleeding? we don't take the time to ask questions. We simply jump to a conclusion.
Sometimes you don't know why someone acts the way they do until you get the to the bottom of the story which usually reflects something that happened in the past..
It is critical to establish open and clear lines of communication in any relationship. i know we hear about this all the time but the importance of this cannot be stressed enough. Communication eliminates a lot of unnecessary drama and problems which may develop. It is important to know from day 1 what intentions are and to take an active stand in proclaiming what you want and what you don't want out of a relationship. If you are passive and "going with the wind", people might take advantage of that and make the relationship on their terms. When drama arises, it's gonna be "well you never said ...." so it is VERY important to talk, talk and talk some more.
I had a conversation with a close friend recently and it gave me a clearer picture of how they think and how certain situations come about in their life. Before this conversation, i had formed my own conclusions on how this person went about doing things...just to find out that i was wrong in a lot of things. They painted a completely different picture than what i had in mind. It just goes to show me that instead of forming my own conclusions, i should actively communicate the way i feel about certain things and put everything on the table so that there are no unresolved issues in the future. I hope you do the same..

peae&love