Post #3

Yeah, I never did keep up with a diary, either.  And blogging is kind of like keeping a diary or journal, isn't it?  Innermost thoughts put down in writing, shared or not depending on how private those thoughts are - and believe me, some thoughts should be kept private.

Sometimes I think we share too much of our private lives in ways that are much too public.  Between Facebook, Twitter and all of the other social media outlets, at any given time of the day, we can peek into the lives of other people and browse through their posts, pictures and comments to find out what makes them tick.  We just can't seem to help ourselves.  We've got to know what's going on outside of our own lives.  Sometimes we treat life as one big reality show except real life isn't scripted and editing yourself isn't as easy as it sounds.

The written word has one, rather major flaw.  There is no way to project positive emotion behind negative writing.  Criticism delivered in writing stings a lot more than if delivered face to face.  In black and white, words must be taken at 'face' value.  Face to face, a compassionate gaze can soften the harshest criticism.

This is why message boards and comments tend to flame out of control because someone says something that possibly wasn't meant to be hurtful but because emotions simply cannot be expressed properly through the written word, someone takes offense and the fuse is lit.  If flaming is left to continue, explosion occurs.  The aftermath can be devastating but thankfully, the written word can be erased so it's as if it never existed in the first place.  Posts are deleted, never to be seen again and soon forgotten - except for those who were involved and who will probably remember what happened for a very long time.

I guess all this rambling is to say one thing - be kind in your writing.  Consider your words before you put them out there where, while they can be deleted, they can never be taken back.  Edit yourself or, if that's not possible, run it past someone you trust.  Get their opinion before you light that fuse and cause unintentional damage.

And to the internet trolls, you know who you are.  I believe that if we ignore you, you will go away.

I normally don't make resolutions but this year, I will be making one.  I resolve to never respond to an internet troll, no matter how inflammatory the comment.  If we do not give them attention, their reason for trolling no longer exists.  Let's be considerate, compassionate and kind to one another.  There's enough nasty in the world as it is.  Let's not add to it.