Think Before You Click

It's been a while...After some pondering and some internal evaluation I find it a little bit hard to write again. With my dad's passing a few months ago and with the lack of saddle time on my bike which is my only refuge from life's stress, left me asking time and again how to get back into the groove of writing.

Some questions keep ringing in my head. Did I lose interest in what I consider man's greatest invention? A friend recently urged me to write again. She noticed the long gap from the last time I entered something here. I told her I'm all stressed out, some personal problems, some internal conflict within my system. She then replied that these should not deter me from putting down my ideas on paper. Yesterday, as I dig into my materials, I came across my old and still unfinished dream of writing my very first novel. I thought I should start this project soon. Need to get back to my old artistic form, I need to get inspired again. Another piece of paper caught my attention so well was a note I copied from the Peace Corps website a few years ago, "Carry a notepad with you. If you are waiting for a meeting to begin, start writing. If you are on a plane, start writing. Whenever there's a second to write, do it. Once you have written it down, you own it." I must admit I felt guilty.

Is writing a hobby? Is it a profession? Or something in between? The answer can be all yes and maybe no. For some, writing process becomes a habit something they shouldn't miss doing everyday and for some it is a source of income. But there is more to that about this most important means of communication. For me it is beyond just scribbling whatever comes to mind but a transferring and sharing of thoughts from one human being to another. It should be of value to people receiving (reading) it. Therefore, it should be communicated in a manner understandable to them (your selected audience) since not everybody would appreciate or fully comprehend everything you write, and it should be in a responsible way. Responsible as it wont confuse the readers as to what you want to convey relative to their own worldview but will rather help them become open to other people's ideas and later on make an own synthesis of it. Responsible as it should be your own way of expressing your ideas regardless if it is inspired from another work or events. I remember a former office buddy who once asked me why I take so much time thinking what to write in my blog and why not just simply cut and paste from the millions of articles available on the internet. I just simply shrugged my head and wondered how he can claim to maintaining his own blog. Wow, he didn't know the word plagiarism (stealing one's written work). As they say, life is full of contradiction, of battles, of polarity, but I believe that there should always be a way to blend, to achieve harmony, peace, and oneness at some point. Sounds like a martial arts budo, right? Thesis (your own worldview) plus Antithesis (other worldview) equals Synthesis. Well, sometimes this shouldn't be the ever guiding formula. Sometimes you write just to simply express your thoughts, to amuse readers and yourself, and just to state your case without any intention of winning an argument.

So why did I put "Think Before You Click" as the title of this article? I keep seeing this ad on GMA News TV, a local television outfit, reminding people to a more responsible and ethical way of writing or posting online. They claim that a lot of troubles and misunderstanding have been created by these not so very well thought of stuff. Hearsay, blind articles, explicit comments, unfounded opinions all worsen the already questionable liberty given to everybody to share what they want, be it words or pictures in any networking sites. The most striking part of this ad is when one endorser said that whatever you put online will never be erased so think before you click. I find it very true and makes a lot of sense. Easy access to internet nowadays doesn't give us absolute freedom. We can not just say or write everything we want without regard to rules and sensibilities. It has to be guided by some responsibility and ethics. Try reading the comments section of any news article from your favorite search engine or after watching a clip from YouTube. Notice how lots of people curse and diss on each other and how sometimes close minded and nonsense their comments were,sometimes even going to the extent of being racist.

This is the danger today when anybody can easily create a blog, write a sentence or two on "What's in your mind" section of Facebook, comment on something or even putting up their own website. Think before you click, I'd say this should be a great reminder to all of us who see the necessity of networking in our everyday life. There are things in life that are best kept secret, compartmentalized and regulated. Freedom is not absolute so as writing. You don't want to put on your Facebook status that you hate your boyfriend so much for cheating and curse him and then change your profile picture the next day showing a picture of you and him together in a beach getaway you went a few months ago telling the whole world you are now back together again.That is just a boo boo.

Happy posting my friends.

(Note: The picture inserted above is owned and taken by the author)