Rethinking Me

Imprecision is just one result of an overly complicated life. Rushing from one appointment to another, I find myself throwing language around haphazardly like clothes in a teenager’s bedroom.

“Did you send that thing we talked about to Bill?”

“I loved the spicy stuff from that restaurant yesterday.”

I’m no prude. I fundamentally believe that cuss words are just words like any other. You won’t see me replacing a four-letter word with symbols because your brain is going to automatically fill in the rest of the word anyway. I cuss, however, when I’m too lazy or too hurried to find a better way to say what I really mean.

“I’ll be lucky if I can get all my shit done this afternoon and make it home in time for dinner at 6.”

Think of all the other ways that statement could be written.

“Three meetings and a proposal due to a client this afternoon. I’ll be lucky to get home on time today.”

Imprecision can can also cause complication in our lives. A conference call appointment at 3:30 seems straightforward enough unless you meant 3:30 CDT and your other attendees meant 3:30 EST.

Hemingway and Raymond Carver welded sparsely precise language to craft stories that have inspired and moved millions of readers. They understood that too many words could just as easily confuse a message as too few.

Someday I’d like to replicate their literary success. Today I’ll settle for clearly communicating with my friends, my family and my coworkers.

posted: 11 April 1
under: Rethinking