Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Squawker

So many voices. Those who believe in us, those who want us to write only what they want to read, those who encourage, those who squawk.


When I was a kid, seagulls meant beach vacations. How cool that I now live by the ocean and for the first waking minutes of most days I think I'm on vacation. Usually. Sometimes the squawking is ugly.

I'm wondering if that might be similar to the voices around our writing. How cool that people care enough to voice opinions about our work? How cool that we're not in this alone? So what if not everyone uses the words we'd like. Our job is to hear what they're trying to say and not how they're saying it. And to those other squawkers in our lives... the people who are difficult for whatever reasons? They're just a small part of the flock.

Thank you to all the voices. May we hear them as if we're beginning a beach vacation, open and full of possibility.

How to you deal with squawkers?

(photo from Royalty Free Stock photos)
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15 comments:

  1. Paul GreciSeptember 14, 2011 at 6:34 PM

    Nice perspective, Robert!! :-) :-)

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  2. Jonathon ArntsonSeptember 14, 2011 at 8:00 PM

    Mine! Mine! Mine! Mine! Mine!


    That is all I hear.

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  3. Margie KimberleySeptember 14, 2011 at 9:03 PM

    This is a great re-frame for me on my attitude towards most seagulls.

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  4. LD MastersonSeptember 14, 2011 at 10:43 PM

    I miss the sound of seagulls. We don't get many in Ohio. Squawkers, on the other hand, seem to be everywhere.

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  5. DEZMONDSeptember 15, 2011 at 5:11 AM

    what a lovely post, dear Robert!

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  6. MG HigginsSeptember 15, 2011 at 7:02 AM

    Thankfully, I don't have many squawkers in my life. But now when one pops up I'll compare them to seagulls and smile.

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  7. Julie MusilSeptember 15, 2011 at 9:12 AM

    LOL! We went to the beach not too long ago, so I have a fresh memory of those squawkers. It is tough sometimes to sift through the noise out there, but it seems to me we have a natural instinct for this. I usually let comments marinate for a little bit before I decide to act--or not act!

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  8. Valerie GearySeptember 15, 2011 at 10:55 AM

    Oh man, what Jonathon said! :) If they start to get too annoying, we could always feed them alka-seltzer. No...that's just mean.

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  9. Shirley WellsSeptember 18, 2011 at 3:10 AM

    The next time the squawkers get to me, I'll picture them as seagulls. Thanks!

    I miss seagulls. Oh, how I miss seagulls...

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  10. Lynda R Young as Elle CardySeptember 19, 2011 at 5:27 PM

    yep, I try to sift through to what they are trying to say and why, rather than how they are saying it.

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  11. Carolyn VSeptember 19, 2011 at 5:52 PM

    Those voices get so noisy sometimes (but I'm still glad they are there). =)

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  12. Creepy Query GirlSeptember 20, 2011 at 5:01 AM

    I think the key is to recognize the squawkers for what they are but keep in mind that every voice deserves to be heard to some degree. Great post! Glad to have discovered your blog!

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  13. AnonymousSeptember 21, 2011 at 5:58 AM

    Everyone's got an opinion on something. Some are worth listening to; others are not. I like the idea of calling out squawkers! And now I'd really like to spend the day at the beach. :)

    Nice connecting with you this week, Robert!

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  14. Aguilar ElliotSeptember 25, 2011 at 3:14 PM

    hopefully most of those voices are coming from outside your head, and not inside your head :)

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  15. AnonymousNovember 9, 2011 at 2:08 AM

    May be sometimes they produces different voices!!!! May be they produces different voices when they see some weird thing!!!

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