"Do you understand?"

When the Crew of the U.S.S. starship Voyager is stranded in the Delta Quadrant, they meet up with an alien from a planet called Talax whose name is Nelix. Nelix is a wanderer, having lost his family in a war previously; and he joins Voyager as a guide. He brings with him a companion, a young Ocampa woman named Kess.

Eventually, Voyager reaches the limit of the area of space known to Nelix, and Nelix begins to fear that he will no longer be able to contribute anything useful to the crew. In search of a map, he makes a deal with an old friend. In return for the map, he assists in the delivery of illegal drugs.

Captain Janeway confronts him about this behavior at the end of the episode. Anticipating punishment, he says, "I'm prepared to leave the ship."

Janeway explains that he doesn't get off so easy. "You're part of a family now, and we all have responsibilities. Do you understand"

Nelix answers, "Yes," and Janeway orders him to scrub the plasma manifolds for the next two weeks.

I couldn't help considering Nelix's reaction from various perspectives... My background is in child care; and it was always hard for me to discipline children whose misbehavior was a sign of their insecurity. In many situations, I found that addressing the emotional situation behind the behavior was crucial to effecting lasting change in the classroom and in the child's life. Incidentally, this works with adults, too. Growing up doesn't change the fact that insecurity makes us behave with poor judgment. We might be able to do what is asked of us with better understanding; but it is amazing what can change when emotional understanding is part of the equation as well.

Watching this episode, I found myself wondering if Nelix really would have understood what Janeway was talking about. If this had been a Star Trek book, I could see this scene as the climax that reveals the secret of Nelix's past and opens the door to a new, deeper relationship of trust between him and Janeway. Of course, we were out of time on the episode; so this did not happen. (Two-parter, anyone?)

I wish I could be...

In Survivors, Deanna Troi gives Tasha an intriguing piece of advice as Tasha struggles to come to terms with her past. She says, "Tasha, you want to be the iron woman, able to defeat all enemies with any weapon or your bare hands, all pertinent facts ready at hand. Data has the physical strength and wide-ranging knowledge you envy, and yet he would give it all up to be human. Talk with him; I think you will learn a great deal from one another."

Tasha is not at all unfamiliar with Data--they have, in fact, had some personal encounters (no spoilers here for those who have not seen season 1 of TNG). However, Deanna's advice leads her to consider her interactions with Data in a new light.

It is often said that opposites attract. But how often do we take the presence of opposites in our lives as opportunities for learning and growth instead of frusttation? My dad is a strong thinker and analyzer. I am a strong feeler and empathizer. My feeling tendencies often irritate him; and one of the things he has encouraged me to do over the years is to develop stronger thinking skills. Whether he knows it or not, I actually took him up on the challenge. I am and will always be a stronger feeler; but making use of my thinking skills helped me to make better use of my feelings and empathy. This includes the ability to determine when to lay them aside at times (not always an easy task while they scream at me in the middle of my work). I hope that perhaps the thinkers in my lifemight benefit as much from learning to use their emotions. (By the way, Vulcans do, indeed, have emotions. But more on that in another post at some future point...)

For those in my readership who may notice that I have alluded to Myers-Briggs type above, that is intentional. The sharing of experience and information between the other personality aspects is also beneficial.