Send

Got an e-mail at work today that nearly popped my sockets. An individual speaking on behalf of their boss sent a communication attempting to express displeasure at certain aspects of the quality of paperwork that has been produced of late. Problem was, the boss uses the written and spoken word like a surgeon's laser; this intern used the written word like herd of rogue elephants.

As I write this, I still wince to see what fallout will come.

But also as I write this, I think back to all the times when .00000097 seconds after hitting send, I wished that I hadn't.

E-mail and the blogosphere are extremely dangerous! They are easy. They require no thought...quite literally sometimes. We vomit our ideas or frustrations and hit send. We read and react. It is so easy to type "Well, oh yeah!" without giving a moments consideration to the friend who offered me, in love, an agonizing rebuke.

So, from one who has pert-near the fastest send button south of the Red River, let me offer up two cents worth of advice. When the passion (anger? rage?) bubbles within your belly as your fingers pound the keyboard, take a respite when you've concluded your message. Let sleep pass between the time you type and the time you send. You might find that the best place for your regurgitation is in cyber-oblivion.

You've gotta love the delete key. It's probably saved more friends than the send key.

A man's wisdom gives him patience; it is to his glory to overlook an offense.

Proverbs 19:11