How teachable are we?

Sometimes it feels like everyone's a critic, doesn't it? Ever have a day where nothing you do seems right, where everyone finds fault with what you say, when nothing just doesn't go right? Sometimes days like that happen, but for some it's almost a way of life. They just seem to live contrary to society. What makes them so? What causes us to have those occassional bouts of contridiction or criticism?
I believe the answer is as simple as "an unteachable spirit". Sometimes criticism isn't bad, or isn't meant to be harmful, but our spirit is unwilling to accept it, so we take offense, and the seed of a problem is planted. Now I'm not saying others can't be harmful in their criticism, or ornery in their social interactions, but those times when we take offense at someone who is offering up a suggestion or comment with a  genuine heart, it is those times that show an unteachable spirit.
We have to be willing to open ourselves up to others, to learn to listen for the intent of a comment, for sometimes people can be blundering in their communication attempts. Too often people are afraid of not being "politically correct", or afraid of having their words twisted or misconstrued that they are overly cautious in their presentation and fail to adequately or accurately communicate their point. Lost is the art of speaking one's heart, of genuine and open communication. In todays world if we want to communicate we must learn to do so in 160 characters or less of a text message! Lol, bff, ttyl, ftf, omg, brb, et al, is the new language, and I'm here to tell you that it isn't working. We cannot effectively communicate in texts, nor are e-mails much better. The tone, the inflection, the non-verbal body language cannot be communicated through a few short abreviated words, and communication is lost, as one puts their own spin or bent to the message...
How can we get back to talking, to listening and responding? To playing attention to those non-verbal signals that communicate so much? Pyschologists say that the words are less than 10% of effective communication; the rest is tone, inflection, body language. Why do we focus on the least effective area of comunication in our effeorts to communicate with each other? Perhaps it all starts with each one of us. The next time we are tempted to dash off a text why not just call? We  might rediscover a whole new world of communication! Food for thought...

A PS. to this note- my daughter was married this past Friday night, and I can say, totally unbiased, that there has never been a more beautiful bride! This is her and her new husband...