It is hard to imagine a world without mobiles, social media, email, or even reliable mail. In my head I know this world existed. I remember life before social media, email, and even mobiles. I imagine that reliable mail was once a luxury that many did not have access to. The latter was as recent the world during my grandfather’s lifetime.
In today’s world, it is natural to never trust someone else to delivery your message. There are multiple ways to connect with others. Relying on another, even if you know her or him well, to deliver you message is problematic. They may not fully understand, even if they think they do. Even if they understand, what they tell others may not be an exact match with your intent. Between the riskiness of losing part of the message and the ease that one has in reaching others, there is little reason to trust others.
I can imagine a world without technology, at least in my dreams. It would be similar to the first few years my grandfather was in India. The pressures of a day would be quite different. One could not reach out to someone on the other side of the world. Trying to communicate with someone multiple time zones away would take weeks and months at best! The best way was obvious. One entrusted one’s message to another through friends.
I am not sure what happened with miscommunication. Whatever the answer was, I am sure benefit of the doubt and understanding was at the heart. In today’s world, I know that even with our technology, many conversations work best when everyone is physically in the same space. Others need to see and hear while being fully present.
I understand that the best is not always possible. Then, and now, one must trust others. Paul’s words echo through as a reminder. “After a while, send him on to me with your blessing. Tell him I’m expecting him, and any friends he has with him.” (1 Corinthians 16.11)
Trust threads through every conversation, direct or indirect.
