Nonviolent Communication

Violence? We're far from violence now, aren't we? Violence means war, fighting, shouting insults... Is that all there is to it? If so, we law-abiding ordinary people are very lucky; if you don't actively stir up trouble, you'll hardly encounter any violence. But wait, listen to these examples: Husband to wife: "You're so much trouble, can't you just hurry up?!" Wife to husband: "Drink, drink, all you ever do is drink, I wish you'd just drink yourself to death!" Teacher to student: "You're so stupid, how can I ever teach you?!" Superior to subordinate: "You're late all the time, do you want me to buy you an alarm clock?" How do these make you feel? No listener would feel good, right? Emotional and psychological wounds can be even more painful than physical harm. But are these things unfamiliar to us? Blame, sarcasm, negation, lecturing, casual judgment, labeling, arbitrary interruption – they are everywhere. In fact, we live in such a painful world of violence. But fortunately, God sent an angel of non-violence! He is Dr. Marshall Rosenberg.