Beyond language

[Quagmire]

Ladinsky rendering of Hafiz wrote much the same thing:

Someone Should Start Laughing

I have a thousand brilliant lies
For the question:

How are you?

I have a thousand brilliant lies
For the question:

What is God?

If you think that the Truth can be known
From words,

If you think that the Sun and the Ocean

Can pass through that tiny opening
Called the mouth,

O someone should start laughing!

Someone should start wildly Laughing -
Now!

I think that if all that ever came out of our mouths was laughter there'd be a lot less miscommunication.

 

[Thief]

I think that if all that ever came out of our mouths was laughter there'd be a lot less miscommunication.

as ridiculous as the world is becoming.....we could laugh and carry on....
or drown in our tears.

If we laughed to scorn the people that are leading us to implosion...
maybe it won't happen.

 

[Papoon]

Part of the pitfall of trying to get people to think critically is that too often people think their message is coherent and logical or that they are great communicators. Sadly, this perception muddies the waters even further as, more often than not, such messages are neither coherent or logical and therefore are less than compelling. Likewise, it almost never occurs to people that they are lousy communicators and should perhaps leave explanations to those who exhibit higher linguistic dexterity.

There is a great Sufi story which I won't bother you with.
The punchline, so to speak, is that if you really want to understand someone, listen to what you say when you are with them.
That's assuming they are capable of shutting up and listening.