How We Talk

Sometimes I stop and think about why I write in this blog. After doing it for several years, why do I still find myself at my computer tapping out new words? It certainly isn't for the money, and it's been a long while since any readers have left a gift basket on my front step. I guess the reason that I love to write this blog is simple: I like to write. 

This train of thought has caused me to think about how different people prefer to communicate. For whatever reason, communication through writing means a lot to me. Over the past couple years, I have had chances to deliver messages in different ways, especially by preaching and teaching. As much as I love to preach, and as much as I love to teach, and as much as I try to give my best in my preparation for such opportunities, I get most excited about writing a new blog post. I feel that writing is how I communicate best. When I write something, it means that I have really thought about it and that I have worked at getting the right words to convey my message. 

For me, the things I write are usually things that I mean the most. Whether it's a blog post, a letter, or just a short message to someone, if I take the time to write it, that person can normally know that I really mean whatever I say (except for the exaggeration and sarcasm that tends to work their way through anything I do). Now, this doesn't mean that if I say something verbally in conversation or in a prepared message, I don't mean it or care about it. However, most often, the topics I am most concerned about are ones that I will address through writing.

Of course, other people communicate most sincerely in other ways. For some who are perhaps more passionate and less cerebral than I am, they communicate most deeply through off-the-cuff conversation. Others do it best through music. For others, it's painting or sculpture. Or by actions. Or with film. Or with a host of other mediums and channels. We each communicate best in a different way, and it's important for each of us to make sure that those close to us understand how we function. Perhaps the greatest obstacle to any sort of relationship is mis-communication, so if you are going to have any sort of relational success, it's necessary that others know how you communicate, and also that you know how they communicate.

So what about you? How do you feel that you communicate most deeply? What mediums do you use to convey the most important messages of your life?