Sometimes I think somewhat poetically. I was going to title this post "The Nature of Writing," but somehow felt that to be a bit too parochial. So it's now "The 5 Windows." But what does this mean? Let's see . . .
As I was in lab today, doing painfully tedious DNA screening, I thought, "Hmm, writing is like one of the five windows into a person's soul." Why five? Eh, it's my favorite number, but let's go with this. Anyway, these 5 windows are the means by which a person can "take a glance at" another's soul without ever knowing the other person.
1. Pictures - They say a picture's worth a thousand words. Perhaps, it's hard to say. Depends on the picture I guess. But pictures of a person can describe a lot about how that person presents him/herself to the world. The clothes we wear, the people we're with (or lack thereof), the background, and the mood we're in, are all captured and conveyed in pictures. It's been said you can't judge a book by its cover, but at the very least, the cover usually gives some indication of the book under it. Pictures capture our soul's outer expression.
2. Writing - Writing is amazingly descriptive about a person. I believe one's inner thoughts are infused into everything he/she writes, regardless if the person's conscious of it or not. Sentence structure & pattern, word choice, syntax, typos, format, etc, all reveal so much about the person behind the text. Regardless of how hard we try, it's near impossible to mask ourselves in our writing. I like reading others' writing in order to get a sense of what kind of person they are, and it's even easier when people are being sincere and relatively unedited - such as in a blog. Writing reveals a soul's inner thoughts.
3. Music - This might be a subset, or it might not be. Originally I meant it to mean the music a person plays, but the music a person listens to is just as applicable. The music we choose to listen to says much about how we'd like to express ourselves. Perhaps it's the chords, perhaps it's the melody, and perhaps it's the lyrics, but all are chosen to express a part of ourselves. Playing an instrument or singing takes this a set further. As I've said before, playing music is like an extension of one's soul. One's hidden emotions can bleed through the music. Sadness, happiness, frustration, anger, all can be conveyed through music. Thus, music is the medium of the soul's emotional expression.
4. Art - Now, like music, not everyone can draw or sculpt or whatnot. But the same criteria applies. The art we like, the art we associate with, more readily shows our nature. Yes, art can just as easily convey emotions like music, but it can do more than that; art can express one's nature. Perhaps one has a sunny disposition, perhaps one is more somber and reflective, art can do a better job of expressing this, I think. On a different level, the kind of art a person produces can tell a lot about the person. If I were to draw with very precise straight lines compared to sketchy lines, you'd recognize a difference in my character. If I were to produce very clean-cut art versus more imprecise art, it can convey a different meaning. In this sense, art can display a person's nature and character.
5. Laugh - Now, laughs are perhaps the most important, and the most difficult to sense if you've never met the stranger in person. But, everyone has a rather unique laugh. Some of it is acquired from the people a person surrounds him/herself with, and a part of it is strictly unique. I feel a person's laugh reflects that person's personality. There are nervous laughs, there are high-pitched laughs, there are low rumbling laughs, there are strange and one-of-a-kind laughs, all are the voices of their owners at their best. I sincerely believe a person's laugh is a reflection of one's personality.
So each of the 5 windows - pictures, writing, music, art, and laughs - reveal a different aspect of a person's soul - outer expression, inner thoughts, emotion, nature/character, and personality (respectively). These are the five I use, but someone else can just as easily use something else. Writing is the only thing I reveal on this blog, for the most part. So, all you get are glimpses of my inner thoughts (incidentally, the part I try to keep veiled the most).
---TANGENT---
Okay, I almost can't believe my blog has hit around 500 page views. That's pretty amazing, I never thought people (other than a few that stumble across it) would read it. Originally it was meant as somewhere for me to dump my thoughts and such. Now I find myself increasingly altering my writing to be for an audience I never really know and will likely never meet. Mostly, this can be seen in the way I address a reader more, and write without anyone in mind less.
At the same time, I'm kind of surprised at the number of people who've linked me (I wonder if there's a way I can find out everyone who's linked me, as I'm sure there are blogs who've linked me that I'm not aware of). In short, I'm touched. I feel like I should link to more people, but I refuse to link until I've read a person's blog from the beginning to the most current post. For those older blogs, this could take a LONG time. I'm just so busy with classes and such, but I think I'm getting caught up and soon I may have some time to just relax and read others' blogs. Anyway, I MUST sleep now. It's going to be a really long weekend . . .
---END TANGENT---
As I was in lab today, doing painfully tedious DNA screening, I thought, "Hmm, writing is like one of the five windows into a person's soul." Why five? Eh, it's my favorite number, but let's go with this. Anyway, these 5 windows are the means by which a person can "take a glance at" another's soul without ever knowing the other person.
1. Pictures - They say a picture's worth a thousand words. Perhaps, it's hard to say. Depends on the picture I guess. But pictures of a person can describe a lot about how that person presents him/herself to the world. The clothes we wear, the people we're with (or lack thereof), the background, and the mood we're in, are all captured and conveyed in pictures. It's been said you can't judge a book by its cover, but at the very least, the cover usually gives some indication of the book under it. Pictures capture our soul's outer expression.
2. Writing - Writing is amazingly descriptive about a person. I believe one's inner thoughts are infused into everything he/she writes, regardless if the person's conscious of it or not. Sentence structure & pattern, word choice, syntax, typos, format, etc, all reveal so much about the person behind the text. Regardless of how hard we try, it's near impossible to mask ourselves in our writing. I like reading others' writing in order to get a sense of what kind of person they are, and it's even easier when people are being sincere and relatively unedited - such as in a blog. Writing reveals a soul's inner thoughts.
3. Music - This might be a subset, or it might not be. Originally I meant it to mean the music a person plays, but the music a person listens to is just as applicable. The music we choose to listen to says much about how we'd like to express ourselves. Perhaps it's the chords, perhaps it's the melody, and perhaps it's the lyrics, but all are chosen to express a part of ourselves. Playing an instrument or singing takes this a set further. As I've said before, playing music is like an extension of one's soul. One's hidden emotions can bleed through the music. Sadness, happiness, frustration, anger, all can be conveyed through music. Thus, music is the medium of the soul's emotional expression.
4. Art - Now, like music, not everyone can draw or sculpt or whatnot. But the same criteria applies. The art we like, the art we associate with, more readily shows our nature. Yes, art can just as easily convey emotions like music, but it can do more than that; art can express one's nature. Perhaps one has a sunny disposition, perhaps one is more somber and reflective, art can do a better job of expressing this, I think. On a different level, the kind of art a person produces can tell a lot about the person. If I were to draw with very precise straight lines compared to sketchy lines, you'd recognize a difference in my character. If I were to produce very clean-cut art versus more imprecise art, it can convey a different meaning. In this sense, art can display a person's nature and character.
5. Laugh - Now, laughs are perhaps the most important, and the most difficult to sense if you've never met the stranger in person. But, everyone has a rather unique laugh. Some of it is acquired from the people a person surrounds him/herself with, and a part of it is strictly unique. I feel a person's laugh reflects that person's personality. There are nervous laughs, there are high-pitched laughs, there are low rumbling laughs, there are strange and one-of-a-kind laughs, all are the voices of their owners at their best. I sincerely believe a person's laugh is a reflection of one's personality.
So each of the 5 windows - pictures, writing, music, art, and laughs - reveal a different aspect of a person's soul - outer expression, inner thoughts, emotion, nature/character, and personality (respectively). These are the five I use, but someone else can just as easily use something else. Writing is the only thing I reveal on this blog, for the most part. So, all you get are glimpses of my inner thoughts (incidentally, the part I try to keep veiled the most).
---TANGENT---
Okay, I almost can't believe my blog has hit around 500 page views. That's pretty amazing, I never thought people (other than a few that stumble across it) would read it. Originally it was meant as somewhere for me to dump my thoughts and such. Now I find myself increasingly altering my writing to be for an audience I never really know and will likely never meet. Mostly, this can be seen in the way I address a reader more, and write without anyone in mind less.
At the same time, I'm kind of surprised at the number of people who've linked me (I wonder if there's a way I can find out everyone who's linked me, as I'm sure there are blogs who've linked me that I'm not aware of). In short, I'm touched. I feel like I should link to more people, but I refuse to link until I've read a person's blog from the beginning to the most current post. For those older blogs, this could take a LONG time. I'm just so busy with classes and such, but I think I'm getting caught up and soon I may have some time to just relax and read others' blogs. Anyway, I MUST sleep now. It's going to be a really long weekend . . .
---END TANGENT---
2 comments:
If there's a will, there's a way. And you're not the first with the will, so here's the way: WhoLinksToMe.com.
Haha, thanks.
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