Tag: in person

Your spirit is contained in your words.

I spend a lot of time reading other people’s thoughts. I don’t mean I’m a psychic or mind-reader or anything. I mean, people write their thoughts down, and I read them. I do a whole lot of that, whether it be on social media, blog posts, articles, comments, you name it.

Since I have gained quite a bit of experience in this, I have noticed something interesting happens when I read someone’s words, and it does sort of border on the psychic. I know it’s just my imagination, but sometimes when I read something that someone wrote, a whole lot more than the words in the text come thorough to me.

It’s hard to explain, but I sort of feel their presence in the words. I can almost make a guess as to what kind of person they are, whether or not I should engage with them, what they love and hate, how they are going to respond to this question or that, what would offend them or hurt their feelings, and even whether they like me or not. None of this is overly apparent from the words they say, but it feels like some deeper part of themselves is coming across in their words, especially if they have put a lot of themselves into the words as they wrote them down.

I know this is a crazy idea, but this is probably the right group to answer this question, because I know you read as much as I do. Does it seem like you actually know the people you read? Can you just sense them? Can you tell if you would click with them or not? Does it feel like they would be in your circle of friends if you met them in person? Do you think you would have great conversation with them? Does it feel like they would totally understand what you are saying? Doesn’t this happen kind of quicker than you might have expected? Can you feel my presence in my words?

To me, meeting someone through their words is almost like meeting them in person. If you can do this, I think you would say that it might be the best part of reading what they wrote. It also seems to transcend space and time, as I can actually feel the character of author’s long dead. I think this is also one of the reasons I write.

Your spirit is being spilled out on the page as you write, but don’t worry, you have plenty of spirit left, an infinite amount if you want to use it. It must be so, because if you can transmit part of yourself to me though words, then you are as infinite as the very idea itself, and you are now everywhere.

Does this make sense to you at all? Do you sometimes feel the people you read? Do you sometimes feel like you are putting some sort of emotion into the words as you write them? Have you ever actually cried while writing something, or reading something? Does AI generated text have the same feeling? Let’s meet in the comments! Don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe!

It wasn’t for me.

I remember there used to be a time when there wasn’t an internet, but I honestly don’t like to think about it. It was a time when everyone was expected to do everything in person or through paper. It was a time when people couldn’t work from home very easily. It was an era that predates blogging and many forms of self-publication. It was really not for me. I was born for the internet, and I spend a ridiculous amount of time there.

Some people like to blame the internet for everything, and there are some negative aspects, but if you really think about it, it has made the world a better place. Here are some things it has added.

  • Better connection to other people. Before the internet, it really wasn’t that easy to keep up with people you went to school with, or family that moved out of state. I remember my grandmother actually had to write to her cousins on paper and use snail mail. That definitely wasn’t optimal, though it did build anticipation and teach patience.
  • The internet allows for anonymity. Some people see this as an evil aspect of the internet, but I think it is absolutely critical. Societies and governments tend to silence and chastise people who criticize them out of fear that if enough people gather together, they will overthrow them. Without anonymity, those people would not be able to state the truth about their society or government.
  • It is more inclusive. The internet is pretty much everywhere now. Before it, you had to really work hard to connect with people outside your local community or state. The world has become much smaller and striking up a conversation with someone across the globe is trivial now.
  • The information age opened up tons of jobs that allow you to work from home, or anywhere there is an internet connection. You can literally work from the beach if you like. You can travel the world if you like, taking your work with you. You also don’t have to worry about that dreaded commute anymore. The only highway you have to be on is the information superhighway.
  • It provided an outlet for tons of creative minds. There are so many creators out there now. It’s almost becoming an expectation in our society. Without the ability to self-publish, you would have to get everything approved by a bureaucratic publishing system and advertising was pretty slow and expensive. Now, you just create an account on social media and start sharing.
  • Of course, the best part of having the internet is that you get to read this amazing blog. 🙂

So, what’s your favorite thing about the internet? Could you live without it? Tell me about it in the comments, and don’t forget to like and subscribe.