In thinking about writing this piece I went through a series of thoughts, ideas and processes to create a potent and intriguing piece of writing. I sat and looped around ideas, emotions and thoughts which whooshed and swirled in my head only to realize a) I’ve had a very long week and felt spent of emotions and honest realities b) I may be experiencing writer’s block c) I am going through a deep bout of insecurity (only for about 48 hours), and figure I might as well expose it here.

And in discovering those small beacons of truth within my inner self, feeling as though I could experience some slivers of cognizant feelings, I went a little further and began to open up to myself. I decide to go straight to the meat of my discomfort and ask myself if I am angry. This question was close to the surface because I had just had a telephone conversation with a friend, expressing that I was, in fact, angry.

To be more specific, I was telling my friend I was angry with Kanye West. I was angry with him as a man and, of course noted how I understood that we as adult human beings all have histories that move us to react to things that can seem aggressive or obscure, but it was still the truth that my anger was acutely directed at him. I further expressed in the conversation that I felt he had done so much damage via his blatant self absorption and eccentricities to a generation’s psyche, to our culture’s psyche that I felt angry, that seemed to be completely aloof to the affects of his behavior.

So, I am angry about that. I am angry with his entire being and existence, and that shouldn’t be a thing, because no one is perfect, but when I speak with this particular friend via telephone I know I can tell my truth and I can analyze as little or as much as I’d like to. She gives me that free reign to say exactly what I need to even if my thoughts are not formed, not that the reality of this anger is not formed. It’s been seething, bubbling, growing and adulting for some time now…which is why I am writing about this within a public forum. Whether others think I am write or wrong, or whether my anger is appropriate, valid or well formed is not my business. I can’t do anything about what others think except sincerely respond, hoping the reader and I can come to some understanding with grace, as a conversation about anger can easily begat more anger, so it will take some finesse and sensitivity to keep a conversation about being angry with a loved music icon cool and at bay. I guess, I would just look at it like, I am not angry with my readers for having thoughts, not can I be angry at a reader for being angry at me for being angry at someone they feel that they love and should protect. I ask for it by writing words. I must find a way to accept and understand potential consequences, negative or positive.

Anyway, going even further with my truth, I paused to take a broad look at the purpose of this column and the title of this publication: TERSE.

What is the definition of TERSE?

TERSE: Using few words devoid of superfluity.

I’d only heard the word in passing – as a professional wordsmith I can admit that I learn new words everyday, words that may be very normal for certain be can be foreign or unknown to me simply because of every morsel of the experiences I’ve been through in life have never called for me to use, encounter or understand countless words.

Anyway, in learning the definition of TERSE, I asked myself if I should write a brief column entry and if all of my column entries should be brief, to pay homage to the name of this website, then by adding the title of this column. “Braving the Days” I began to think:

“Braving the days using a few words devoid of superfluity.”

How would one do that or how would that sentence be acted out in real life? Yes, this is how my brain works. Between my thought journeys I write notes. I scribble thoughts and ideas and sew them together hoping to God they make sense. Who in God’s name would give me the opportunity to write free form? Should a messy thinker like me be permitted to write without direction from an editor or without a tightly fleshed out theme?

Braving the Days?

The only bravery in me is the ability for me to say, “yes” – yes to opportunities like this. I don’t take it for granted.

Next month I will write about:

“Giving people a loophole to demoralize you.”

I had this thought within my meanderings but I didn’t have time to explore it now as my work here should be brief, lest I go off topic and drown in a sea of listless bumbling sentences.