Harmony

Tuesday's Bangkok Post has the headline - Harmony tops government's priorities. I can identify with this.

This week saw me break a couple of barriers, as I name them. It happened on Monday which was the first day of the new Yingluck Government and the Feast of the Assumption.

For the feast, I went along to Assumption Cathedral for its patronal celebrations. I joined in the mass led by the Archbishop and I was amazed at how much I understood and at how well I could participate in Thai. I am not saying that I am now fluent in Thai but I feel like that I have broken a barrier and gone to the next stage. Along with this, I found myself connecting in a good way with the Thai priests there. I have often found this to be a challenge as the priests here seem aloof or hesitant to engage you. I guess it is the language barrier at play. It has taken me nearly six years to get this far but here I am finally.

I can see how we so easily misunderstand each other through our own strange ways of behaving and communicating. When I hear Thais many times speaking in English, they can sound rude and aggressive. It is not that they are being rude or aggressive. It just is that is how they sound when speaking a language that is so difficult for them. Harmony is a wish of all in life but it is an often elusive value.