Just Skimmin' the Top

Skimmin'.

I'm guilty of it, for sure. Quickly reading what others write, even making the tragic mistake of assuming that I can make a judgment of their character perhaps from a pithy status update or single blog post. Do you do this, too? You start reading someone's writing, the first paragraph perhaps, then stop and scan down the page to see how long the article is? For me, I'm sorry to say, the length can determine the amount of 'scan' that happens. Guilty.

There is a problem with this, however. I miss so much.

Little words or nuances of meaning lost...hearing only one facet of the writer when there is so much more to be realized by reading more carefully or by investigating further. And I wonder...do others do this with my writing, as well?

If you are a regular reader of this blog, you may think that I can be pretty 'in your face'. Yeah. Guilty, again. (As a matter of fact, someone close to me just told me so...I denied it, then had to take a hard look again at my own words.) I certainly don't mean to be so bold or hurt anyone, really; sometimes things just need to be said for the sake of sanity. While it may be true that there are times when things are best left unsaid, this is my blog and I reserve the right to say what I think. But I will admit that I can be a little, well, straightforward.

However, if some readers are only reading one or two posts of mine, or skimming quickly looking for a bottom line (or something else), I'm afraid that they may not be getting an accurate picture of my character or my intent. I am not only 'straightforward' or 'in your face' with my thoughts; I can be caring, compassionate, melancholy and even lighthearted or silly at times. Seriously. And I don't always write about one topic; there are many topics that interest me and I have written about. It's true. Moreover, there is a unifying thread throughout all that I ponder, and that is human behavior and relationship. Truly, that is the heartbeat of all that interests me.

To that end, my skimming is really unfair to the writers I read and to myself.

To correct this, I will be making a concerted effort to more thoroughly read posts and updates of the places I frequent on the web, hoping to more fully understand the writers and not make hasty judgments. I think this is a worthwhile endeavor from which I expect to learn much - not only about the topics being written about, but about the authors, as well.

Everything that irritates us about others
can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.

~Carl Gustav Jung