Understand Understanding.

by Motlatsi Mathebe (South Africa)

Making a local connection South Africa

In South Africa, particularly in the Gauteng community where I grew up nobody tells their stories, there’s always a narrator that “understands ” our stories more than we do, now I find this highly disturbing. Some of us ask questions to discern or even generate information, but what objective do any of these satisfy? I masquerade this not as a question but rather as a dare, in natural not and very witty terms I challenge you to formulate questions that feed your purpose,your growth and to help further educate yourself. And really try understand why you are posing a question in the first place. Now before I get into explaining the very simple complexities of the art of understanding,I would like to share with you my reason for questioning anything and everything. See I only have three fears in my waking life, my first fear is darkness but not in the literal sense,I do not fear the absence of light but the shadows I see in darkness, in the deep unbound corners of what my mind is capable of...Now my second fear is being misunderstood,no matter what we do or say as children of the sun people will always hear what feeds their interests, not everybody engages in the same capacity, most people do not understand that as much as my expression has to do with them it also has absolutely nothing to do with them,one expresses themselves and others may be offended because they have taken the original expression as their own and made it about themselves. I hope I am not often misunderstood, because I may become my misunderstanding. My third and final fear is not understanding for any particular reason,one who doesn’t understand may be constricted, their mind caged, thus limiting them from reaching their optimum potential. I refuse to not understand! In fact I don’t understand why I would not understand,that is complete hogwash. Asking questions is also a form of expression,you express not only what bugs you or sparks your curiosity,in doing so you are letting your interests be known and thoughts as well. Now my favorite type of people are those that who pose questions to merely understand,taking upon the greatest task in the universe of I dare say. They say nothing is impossible but they lied! We were deceived by our so-called great philosophers and literary geniuses,how naive they were,how damn untruthful they are! But understanding emotions of another or thoughts in particular is indeed impossible my friends. We think we understand, and to think is to imagine or one can easily become the other, they have a mutually beneficial relationship these two. “Put yourself in another’s shoes” they said,”walk a mile in their shoes” they said,”nothing is impossible” they said! “NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE” they said. Nonsense I say! We can imagine what the next person has experienced,but to say” I understand” after all is said and done is nonsensical chatter! I pose to you friends that to sympathize with the next person is not to understand their experiences. Yes we may have had similar experiences or so but this does not mean we understand anything at all, in fact it just means that we sympathize with them, that we find what they are going through relatable. That we can somehow now imagine whatever it is they are facing, and to relate is not to understand friends, but there is one thing I’d like you to understand dear friends, and that is you understand nothing related to the feelings,experiences,thoughts and even desires of the next. What answers to what questions make you feel that you understand? I pose to you that understanding is an emotion,not some sort of mental capacity of comprehension or procession of a variety of information. Understanding is a feeling, you feel it in your bones,yes in your bones! Now how can you feel the emotions or thought of another in your bones? Are your bodies,mind and soul one? No they are not! Therefore you understand not! But what I hope you can understand is that sometimes people merely need to express themselves.