Undaunted

When I first started writing this blog, I named it “Just Words.” In my mind, the ramblings that flowed through my fingers onto my keyboard and appeared as words on a screen, were just a bunch of words.  The blah, blah, blah musings of a middle-aged woman that no one would really care to read (unless maybe they were related to me). Maybe that’s true and maybe it isn’t. I like to think I was wrong on that.

I am a writer. I love words. Words do matter, whether written or spoken. What you and I say or write does mean something. Words can lift me up or bring me down. Once spoken (or in these days texted or emailed or blogged), you can’t take them back. They are out there – good or bad. With our world becoming more and more electronic, where we are hidden behind our “smart” devices, words become even more important. I’m not complaining.  A true introvert, this is where I am most comfortable –  hiding behind my device, sitting in my PJs in the comfort of my home, carefully crafting and recrafting my words, hoping to send forth the meaning I intend. Yet, I know these cyberspace words are void of human context, of human interaction. You can’t see my face or expression to truly know if I am being sarcastic or sincere. You can’t see the sly smile cross my lips to know if I am joking or being hurtful. Nor do you know if my silence or lack of words is because I am busy or forgetful or having a bad day or I am purposefully blowing you off.

As you cannot get inside my head to understand what I truly meant when I typed those words and hit Enter or pressed Send, I cannot get in yours.  This is hard to remember when I read some comment on Facebook that rubs me the wrong way. Many times as I read heated conversations between “friends” and strangers, I notice people are quick to take offense and strike back in hurtful ways. When I find myself tempted to jump into the mix,  I remind myself that life is better when I assume that most people have good intentions. I am happier assuming people did not intend to make me angry or hurt my feelings or question my integrity but that they simply misunderstood my words or I theirs. And even if that is not the case, everyone is entitled to their own opinion. A person’s opinion is not a personal attack on me as an individual. I don’t have to react to their words or share mine.

My blogging voice has been quiet for a few years. I haven’t felt like sharing my words. Maybe it was because I deemed them as “Just Words,” so who really cares anyway? This epiphany that my thoughts are more than ‘Just Words,” led me to  rename my blog to “Serendipity.” Isn’t that a great word! It just rolls off the tongue. Serendipity means a “fortunate happenstance” (happenstance – another great word) or a “pleasant surprise.”  Serendipity represents the essence of my blog – to share the pleasant surprises my life brings with others and hopefully leave my followers a pleasant surprise as they read my words and relate.

Yes, words are important, but they don’t mean shit if you don’t follow through… But that is a topic for another day.

Tell me what you think in the comments below (I promise not to take offense:)).