What we can learn from Metallica

Talking face to face as a means to resolve issues is not something that is practiced in these parts of the world (by this I am talking about context and culture). This is always the case. Asians are not fond of constructive conversations that requires people to talk face to face and resolve their feelings, may it be in an argumentative nature. What is important here is that we let the other know how we feel and the other person let us know how he or she feels. This requires both persons having respect of the others feelings and willing to listen to the thorny words that are conveyed. But the important thing is that there is an element of true humility and a sense of finding a form of reconciliation.

Asians, in how I understand them easily take things to heart. We have extremely sensitive hearts that is just ready to pounce in a defensive mode when we feel threatened by someone’s response to us, may it be in the form of verbal words uttered to us, letters, what we hear from people. It just ticks us off in a manner that we must defend ourselves.

This kind of attitude creates barriers for communication. People tend to shut up and let the whole fiasco boil up in their souls. Another way that we might react is to tell others about how we feel to other people. Usually we stab people who hurt us behind our backs. Thus we leave things unresolved and create other problems and the cycle will go on and on and on.

One of the most ironic thing that I found in the net is how a band (Metallica) went into this kind of problem and did what they could to resolve the issues that have been following them from the beginning which eventually boiled up when their bassist quit the band. This made the current members rethink how they have approached their relationship with one another and they way that they dealt with communication. I found the clip with Dave Mustaine and Lars Ulrich very enriching. You could feel some sort of tension when they spoke of what they felt but with that I am just respecting them for taking that step. Not that I am promoting Metallica but I find that Metal Heads make decent human beings too. After all they are people just like us. Sometimes we forget that. This is something the Christian community should pave the way for authenticity of what Christianity means. Not some very out of this world spiritualization of things. Lets learn from the most unlikely of sources.