No “Deal”

In a recent broadcast the word turned up 22 times. Perhaps that’s part of the problem. Words have meanings related to context. I Googled for alternatives and found this:

• Agreement or Contract: Agreement, bargain, contract, pact, settlement, understanding, accord.

• Sale or Purchase: Transaction, trade, buy, bargain.

• Large Amount: Lot, abundance, plenty, mass, quantity. [1, 2]

As a Verb

• To Trade or Negotiate: Bargain, trade, traffic, negotiate, transact.

• To Distribute: Dispense, divide, distribute, allot, apportion.

• To Handle a Situation: Manage, address, cope, treat, control.

There are interpretations of what happened firing back and forth which proves some of the differences in what a deal is.. A written document generally comes about when the parties start from common objectives. I wonder what would happen if they started with where they agree - not on terms, but as human beings.

The artist Robert Genn named some possibilities in one of his twice-weekly letters he posted in 2001. It was about getting on with things, and a reminder that life is shorter than we are prepared to face.

“Life is a canvas on which we are privileged to move our various brushes but once. There will always be a place for charity, kindness, love, courtesy, fair play, decency, motherhood, fatherhood, and not taking ourselves too seriously”.

What if we took those places seriously as our starting point?