This post is about you!
When you read a blog, aren’t you trying to connect, to identify, to expand your vista?
Are you a scanner? For me, it’s about 3-5 seconds. If something hasn’t grabbed me by then, my eyes glaze over and I stumble on through the web before I can yawn. I want an oddity, something inspiring and challenging I can tag and move on. Sound familiar? The challenge for you and me is to slow down and appreciate what we are eating, to enjoy the flavor and the experience of the meal. Digestion takes time.
Connecting with others takes work. As I breeze through life, the grocery clerks, baristas and gas station attendants get the same attention as a website. Did they have a unique quip? An engaging manner? If not, my eyes glaze over and I stumble on through life before I can yawn. Still waters run deep, and those wallflowers might have something to teach me. My patience costs me in terms of personal growth and human connections in ways I may never know.
Some savor the writing. Is this you? Do you consciously contemplate every word, reconsidering the more complex connundrums to assure complete comprehension before continuing? If so, you may look back and marvel at the amount of alliteration in the previous sentence. I scan through it, musing silently for one-eighth of a second, but you see every literary tool. Did you miss something?
Connecting with others takes courage. Ignore the fascinating oddities and listen for the point. The trees are beautiful, but there is a forest here somewhere. Examining the form of art is simply a way of distancing yourself, whether the words are written or spoken. Fear will keep you as a passive observer if you are not careful. Get out there and mix it up! Life is here to be lived! Engage, interact and create your own art!
How you surf says a lot about how you relate to people and to the world around you. Take a minute (eight seconds, if you are a scanner like me) and think about how you can add to your connectedness with others by changing the way you interact with the world around you.
Scotty
