An Innocent Comment · 26 January 2019
I got an innocent comment on my blog the other day. It would NOT have sounded like positive encouragement had it come from another source.
We all have friends who give us encouragement. They are the ones who say things like:
“Nice job.”
“Way to go.”
“You hit that one out of the park.”
They are the ones who give you pats on the back. They might even stroke your ego. It is nice to have friends like that.
We also have friends who say those same things, but when they say them with the right tone or inflection, those words do not sound quite the same. They might even sound like anything but encouragement.
“Nice job.” (For an idiot.)
“Way to go.” (You made me look amazing compared to you.)
“You hit that one out of the park.” (Too bad it was a foul ball.)
The funny thing is that I enjoy those pot shots and the true words of encouragement the equally. They are all words of motivation to me. They are all positive to me. Especially since I know that the sarcasm from some of my friends is sarcastic sarcasm. It is like a double negative, which means that it is positive. (Even when they do not mean it that way.)
Maybe it is just a guy thing. Or maybe I need more friends. Or more probably, I really am just an idiot, and have no clue whether my friends are giving me positive or negative comments. (My friends will tell me the last one is the right choice.)
Which brings me back to my original thought. I got a comment on my Blog Jam post that said, “I hope you come up with more ideas soon!” I was lamenting in my post that I was in a bit of a writing funk, and the comment was surely meant as encouragement. That was when I realized that if one of my friends, either of whose names start with M (which sounds like I only have two friends, which may or may not be true), had said those words, that they might have had that tone of voice or inflection that said, “It would be nice if you ever came up with any ideas.” Or certainly something more clever than that.
Of course, the comment was not from one of my friends who gives those types of comments. It was from an online friend and fellow writer just giving encouragement. In a positive manner. Still, the comment struck me as funny. For all the reasons I have already given. And so I had to comment on the comment with this blog post.
Thank you Lydia for the nice comment and encouragement. And thank you for the wording that hit me as funny. After all, those words made me think fondly of my friends, and how those same words would sound out of their mouths. And it gave me an idea for a blog post.
It is funny what thoughts and words can result from an innocent comment.
© 2019 Michael T. Miyoshi
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