Human beings are free to think whatever they wish. Yet thoughts do not always exist in clear sentences, and putting them into words is not a neutral act. Once expressed—and especially once published—private thoughts begin to affect other people. This reflection considers the distance between thinking, verbalizing, and communicating, and the responsibility involved in writing a personal blog.
People think about all kinds of things.
When we speak of thinking, we tend to imagine that we are forming words somewhere inside our heads.
Yet we also have feelings and impressions that remain difficult to express, so thinking itself may be more complicated than it first appears.
There are times when we do not want to think about anything at all. And when we are physically active, there are moments when the body must respond before the mind has time to put anything into words.
Perhaps, then, we are not constantly thinking in a clearly verbalized form.
In any case, human beings have the freedom to think whatever they like.
Thinking is free. But once we try to put our thoughts into words, things become somewhat more complicated.
They become more complicated still when we release those words into the world.
When people select only the ideas that serve their own interests, give them persuasive language, and spread them widely in order to lead others in a particular direction, those ideas can become propaganda.
Human thought is fundamentally self-centered. As a result, contradictions inevitably arise between one person’s way of thinking and another’s.
To supporters of President Trump, his claims may appear unquestionably correct. To those who oppose him, the very same words may sound entirely unacceptable.
Each side has its own arguments, and it has become increasingly difficult for them to move toward one another.
I, too, think about many things.
But what seems correct to me is correct only from my own point of view. To others, much of it may seem mistaken, and there are undoubtedly many aspects of my thinking that could be improved.
Through this blog, I put my thoughts into words. Those words should not be careless, nor should they cause unnecessary pain to someone else.
At the same time, I do not put everything I think into words.
Without fully realizing it, I select certain thoughts, leave others out, and polish some parts of myself before presenting them.
Seen in that light, the person who appears in this blog may also be, in a sense, a somewhat hypocritical version of myself.
There is freedom in thinking, and there is freedom in putting thoughts into words.
But the distance between the two may be greater than we imagine.
That is what makes writing so difficult.
We are free to think, but the moment we turn thought into language, freedom begins to carry responsibility.
・・・
put something into words
To express a thought or feeling clearly through language.
考えや感情を言葉で表現する。
verbalized
Expressed or formed in words.
言語化された。
release words into the world
A figurative expression meaning to publish or communicate something publicly.
言葉を公に発信する。
serve one’s own interests
To be useful or advantageous to oneself.
自分に都合よく働く。
propaganda
Information spread deliberately to influence people’s opinions or behavior, often in a biased way.
人々の考えや行動を一定の方向へ導くため、意図的に広められる偏った情報。
self-centered
Viewing things mainly from one’s own position, needs, or interests.
自分を中心に物事を考える。
move toward one another
To reduce disagreement and try to reach mutual understanding.
意見の隔たりを縮め、歩み寄る。
leave something out
To omit or not include something.
何かを省く、書かずにおく。
polish parts of oneself
Here, to present oneself in a more favorable or carefully arranged way.
自分を多少よく見せるように整える。
hypocritical
Claiming or appearing to have principles or qualities that one does not fully live by.
実際とは異なる立派な姿を見せる、偽善的な。
#FreedomOfThought #ResponsibilityOfWords #PersonalWriting #LifeInJapan #ColoKen
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