Pop a Top

I don’t advocate the drinking of pop or beer daily, but enjoying a can every once in awhile is okay.  Some basic and obvious guidelines for enjoying your favorite carbonated beverage…

1.       Do not shake your pop/beer before opening it

2.       Sip slowly, so as to avoid indigestion

3.       Recycle the can/ bottle when finished

So you’re wondering why on earth I am talking about how to drink a can of pop when it is clearly the most effortless task on this planet.  Well, the only reason I am writing about it is because I had a thought today regarding its relation to communication.  Yes that’s right, communication. 

Before I explain the correlation, let me first say that communication is, I think, one of the most crucial components of any relationship.  From the time you were a child you had to communicate with your parents so your most basic needs could be met. “I’m hungry, Dad,” or “Mom, Where’s my jacket? I’m cold.”  We grow and increase our ability to express ourselves by telling friends what we like and dislike, and then every once in awhile we find a person with whom we can share with more openly.  We communicate needs, wants, fears, and desires. Without a deeper level of communication I don’t think we can form the relationships that we so desperately wish for in life.

So, here’s my correlation.  It’s not all definite or entirely correct, this I know.  I’m just basing it off of my own encounters and experiences.

1.       Don’t shake the can= If you meet someone and you want to develop that deeper conversation, don’t be aggressive about it.  You may want to jump right in, but you can’t get in their face and demand that they tell you about their darkest secrets after only talking with them for 5 minutes.  

2.       Sip slowly- Approach certain topics with caution.  Some people don’t like talking about their fears, the death of loved ones, etc as much as others do.  They need to take more time getting to know the person before they share any of that information with them.  And don’t discuss so many intense topics in one sitting.  It’s exhausting, and a lot to take in.

3.       Recycle- revisit the topics every once in awhile.  People may share more than they did the time before, and new topics can emerge from the old ones.

Crazy how you can find deeper meaning behind a can of pop.  Or maybe it’s just my absurd ideas getting the best of me.  But I do know this.  If you try your best to open up to others and express your vulnerabilities without shame, good things will result.  You may not get the reaction you are looking for from everyone (I hope they would be understanding though), but you discover more about yourself. You realize that by admitting your vulnerabilities you grow one step closer to understanding who you are as an individual.  That you are not alone when it comes to feeling inadequate, sadness, loneliness, and hurt.  That we need others to love us as we are, faults and all, and that they need the same from us.