For Wednesday, August 22: You got that?

You never really truly understand something until you can explain it to your grandmother.  Attributed to Albert Einstein

Ha, I love this quote.  I love it because it is so true.  We over complicate things and then when we are forced to explain them to someone who doesn't have a lot of exposure to the thing we are forced ourselves to slow down, listen to what we are saying, and more often than not I find I gain a clearer way of doing or looking at the thing.  Sometimes even a better way of doing a task emerges from me trying to explain it to someone else.  

I've had to explain several things to my grandparents (taking today's quote literally) and can you imagine how silly and even stupid Facebook (for example) sounds when trying to explain it to them? :) It's hysterical to me.  They just seem confused.  And they are right to be confused.  In the example of Facebook - since when is virtual connection better and more fulfilling than face to face and voice to voice connection?  And I'm talking about the people who live right down the street from you.  I love Facebook for the people I love who live in other parts of the world - literally!  Facebook is great for that but for the people in our daily lives?  It has hindered our abilities to relate comfortably in person.  (Okay enough of my soapbox which of course I can only stand on with one leg because I use Facebook just as much as others.)  But I've digressed.  

Slowing down to explain something to someone brings clarity to our own understanding.  Try it, you might like it and learn from it!