"I'm late! I'm late! For a very important date! No time to say hello, goodbye! I'm late! I'm late! I'm late!" (The White Rabbit in Alice in Wonderland) Lessee here, I guess I could say, "The dog ate my homework." Nah, that doesn't work, obviously. What about, "Oh no! The 'blue screen of death" happened and all my work went up in smoke,"? No, that doesn't work either because I'm obviously writing this. Hmmmm, I just don't know what to say. I got it, how about ... the TRUTH! That's it, I'll fall prostrate and beg for mercy! That'll work. It has to. I don't have any other choice. Okay, so here goes...
There are a couple of messages in the above paragraph, right? Yes, I am late in posting. It's just the way it goes. I suppose I had ample time to post before but allowed other things to interfere. So, I'm late. What about you? When you get ready to turn in your work, do you try to think up ways to give yourself more time? Do you invent catastrophes to give an excuse for late work? Believe me, I have heard and seen plenty. There are true reasons for work being late. Most definitely. But, for yours and everyone else's sake, please make sure that you do the best you can to get your work in on time. See, it sets a precedence, a habit that is often hard to break. Plus, it forces your professor to give more time when the work has been part of the plan from the beginning of the term, right? I'm not trying to ruffle any feathers or cause anyone to be defensive. I don't have any person or class in mind. Just generally speaking, do the best you can to get your work in on time. That way, you don't have to waste time and energy in inventing some new excuse.
Wednesday, March 19, 2014
Monday, March 17, 2014
Words? WORDS!
I'm hoping your days are filled with joy and love. I'm also hoping that God's Presence fills your heart to overflowing.
These things that I've just typed, while carrying a full meaning with each word, together make a thought or several thoughts. So, what's in a word? Well, duh, letters, right? Yes. Letters, then syllables, then roots, then eventually meanings. When you couple several of those meaning-FULL words together, you create a sentence. Several sentences make a paragraph. Several paragraphs make a chapter. Several chapters make a book, thesis, dissertation, tome...etc.
But, what is exactly carried in these things called words? On my screen right now, it's black letters imposed on a white screen, a blocked area that is editable and allows me to convey ...(wait for it)... thoughts. As you read these words, you are left to interpret their meaning. Yes, the actual definition is standardized to a point, but there are also meanings that are carried along with the word. I could tell you that I'm blue, for instance. You know immediately that the original meaning is not to be conveyed here. I'm not really blue. I'm flesh-colored (whatever that means). No, if I say I'm blue, you quickly put a "colorized" version of that word and recognize that I'm probably talking about mood. To get that, you read the context. From the context, the social norm, and from an historical reference, you're able to feel fairly certain what I mean when I say, "I'm blue." All of those interpretations happen at once, especially from a North American context with those specific words.
Here lies one of the biggest problems. Self-interpretation. No, I'm not talking about understanding yourself but about your ability to grasp the meaning of the words that you read. If, as I mentioned above, this is black text on a white background, one would assume there is nothing else attached to the words. Just simple definitions compiled to make somewhat coherent statements that, when joined with other somewhat coherent statements, create a sentence, a paragraph, a chapter, a book, etc. Yet, there is something more. Something more powerful. These simple shapes called "letters" that form multiplied simple shapes called "words" convey other things. They have the ability to convey emotions. Of course, the simple hints in writing help. Writing in ALL CAPS, underlining, bold text, all let you "hear" emphasis that is normally associated with either yelling, strength, or even anger. The tricky part is when these things are absent. The reader is left to interpret the meaning of the words that are in front of them, not just the actual meaning, but the intent behind the words. Simple nuances of sentence structure can start wars or bring about peace. Just simple black letters on white background has so much strength associated with them that they have the mental capability (if not actual capability) of starting World War III, a new nuclear war, an assassination, or individual harm. The simple words are not the problem. It is the context, and more important, the interpretation of those words in that context.
James 3 has a lot to say about the spoken word. James warns his readers, "Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one's life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell." (James 3: 5b-6) Wow, powerful! I wouldn't discount the written word either. It's even more trickier than the spoken word because it is left up to the reader to interpret voice, tone, emotion, etc. I do advocate the use of emoticons. I don't know if you've noticed, but I use 'em. A lot. However, that's not what this writing is about. I'm actually more concerned about self-awareness as you write. A little awareness will help you self-edit so that when you post anything electronically, you've taken into consideration the reader's perspective. James points to the irony of our speech but ends with the admonition that is the conclusion to this whole long writing. James says, "With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God's likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be." (James 3:9-10) These things should not be! In other words, don't do it! Period. Stop!. Be aware of what you are saying. Doubly so when you are writing. People are left to the voice that is reading the text in their own heads. Be careful with what you write. Does that mean you have to be rid of all emotion when you write? Absolutely not. In fact, some pretty powerful stuff can be produced in writing - think of the whole Bible. Certainly. Write. But, think about what you write and before you hit the famous "Send" button, make sure that you are saying what you really wanted to say. You want to make sure that the importance of your words are truly conveyed rather than being obscured by your readers' interpretation of what you've written.
Okay, that's it for now. God bless you as you continue to do His work!
These things that I've just typed, while carrying a full meaning with each word, together make a thought or several thoughts. So, what's in a word? Well, duh, letters, right? Yes. Letters, then syllables, then roots, then eventually meanings. When you couple several of those meaning-FULL words together, you create a sentence. Several sentences make a paragraph. Several paragraphs make a chapter. Several chapters make a book, thesis, dissertation, tome...etc.
But, what is exactly carried in these things called words? On my screen right now, it's black letters imposed on a white screen, a blocked area that is editable and allows me to convey ...(wait for it)... thoughts. As you read these words, you are left to interpret their meaning. Yes, the actual definition is standardized to a point, but there are also meanings that are carried along with the word. I could tell you that I'm blue, for instance. You know immediately that the original meaning is not to be conveyed here. I'm not really blue. I'm flesh-colored (whatever that means). No, if I say I'm blue, you quickly put a "colorized" version of that word and recognize that I'm probably talking about mood. To get that, you read the context. From the context, the social norm, and from an historical reference, you're able to feel fairly certain what I mean when I say, "I'm blue." All of those interpretations happen at once, especially from a North American context with those specific words.
Here lies one of the biggest problems. Self-interpretation. No, I'm not talking about understanding yourself but about your ability to grasp the meaning of the words that you read. If, as I mentioned above, this is black text on a white background, one would assume there is nothing else attached to the words. Just simple definitions compiled to make somewhat coherent statements that, when joined with other somewhat coherent statements, create a sentence, a paragraph, a chapter, a book, etc. Yet, there is something more. Something more powerful. These simple shapes called "letters" that form multiplied simple shapes called "words" convey other things. They have the ability to convey emotions. Of course, the simple hints in writing help. Writing in ALL CAPS, underlining, bold text, all let you "hear" emphasis that is normally associated with either yelling, strength, or even anger. The tricky part is when these things are absent. The reader is left to interpret the meaning of the words that are in front of them, not just the actual meaning, but the intent behind the words. Simple nuances of sentence structure can start wars or bring about peace. Just simple black letters on white background has so much strength associated with them that they have the mental capability (if not actual capability) of starting World War III, a new nuclear war, an assassination, or individual harm. The simple words are not the problem. It is the context, and more important, the interpretation of those words in that context.
James 3 has a lot to say about the spoken word. James warns his readers, "Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one's life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell." (James 3: 5b-6) Wow, powerful! I wouldn't discount the written word either. It's even more trickier than the spoken word because it is left up to the reader to interpret voice, tone, emotion, etc. I do advocate the use of emoticons. I don't know if you've noticed, but I use 'em. A lot. However, that's not what this writing is about. I'm actually more concerned about self-awareness as you write. A little awareness will help you self-edit so that when you post anything electronically, you've taken into consideration the reader's perspective. James points to the irony of our speech but ends with the admonition that is the conclusion to this whole long writing. James says, "With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God's likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be." (James 3:9-10) These things should not be! In other words, don't do it! Period. Stop!. Be aware of what you are saying. Doubly so when you are writing. People are left to the voice that is reading the text in their own heads. Be careful with what you write. Does that mean you have to be rid of all emotion when you write? Absolutely not. In fact, some pretty powerful stuff can be produced in writing - think of the whole Bible. Certainly. Write. But, think about what you write and before you hit the famous "Send" button, make sure that you are saying what you really wanted to say. You want to make sure that the importance of your words are truly conveyed rather than being obscured by your readers' interpretation of what you've written.
Okay, that's it for now. God bless you as you continue to do His work!
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