Chris Walsh (chris_walsh) wrote,
Chris Walsh
chris_walsh

A break from the one-word entry titles. (Say more!)

Hi.

...no, I should not swap one-word titles for one-word entries! Think of something else to say.

Because there's always something else that can be said.

I know someone. Means well, is serious about life and learning, but is someone who 95% of the time on Facebook or Twitter goes for a joke. Usually an obvious joke. Yes, jokes can be loaded with meaning, can add a lot; these aren't and usually don't. I sometimes want to tell him, privately, this: "There's more you can say than the jokes. The jokes don't usually show your more thoughtful side, or your more serious side. Making everything a joke is like having a diet of only bacon; you need more than that." (Keep in mind, I really like bacon.)

I make sure to remind myself of that: vary the thoughts. It's like stretching different muscles. Like another time: I see a nice photo a mother has posted of her young daughter. It's the sort of photo that usually makes adults go "Oh, she's going to be a heartbreaker!" Which is less about the daughter and more about people's future reactions to her...and which is not fair to her. So instead of anything like a "heartbreaker" comment -- which I did briefly consider -- I instead said "May she live happily and well." And felt better, because it was, I think, a better thought.

It's good, as always, that using words online gives us that chance and time to think of what might be better thoughts; my desire to vary the thoughts in conversation sometimes leads to me freezing up. I think too hard then: will I be too obvious? Will I be too non-obvious, and make people go "what?" Will I not speak clearly or loudly enough, and still get a "what?" Yes, I stress about that more than I should, especially around people who like me.

Besides, stretching the thought muscles when I write will, or at least should, help me stretch my talking muscles later. Unlike, say, H.P. Lovecraft, I like talking to people!

This is me trying to be less worried about what I say. It's a struggle, but a small one.
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