In one field we played in,someone noticed a hole in the middle of the filed. It was huge (at least to our eyes), but despite that we took our turns jumping over it. If you didn't jump, you were chicken. The problem is, if you jumped and misjudged the distance or (in my case) misjudged your jumping ability, things went wrong. This usually resulted in a twisted ankle. Of course, I was the dumb one to get up and try again. Some people never learn.
The problem is, many adults still have a tendency to do a lot of jumping. Instead of jumping over holes, they are jumping over discernment. In other words, jumping to the wrong conclusion. Instead of going to a person and asking what is going on or why they have done something, they jump to their own conclusion and have already decided you are doing something they do not agree with.
Does the person discuss this with you? Of course not, that would only make sense. But they do seem to tell everyone else. Suddenly, no one knows what to believe. And unlike the children doing the jumping, usually the 'ankle' of someone else is injured, instead of the jumpee. I seem to think this happens more than anyone else cares to admit. Or am I jumping to conclusions here?
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Do you like to r.a.n.t. too?
* R.a.n.t. - an acronym for 'Rage About Nothing, Typically'. It's writing about life's little nuances that are, (for the most part), trivial. Something we can all relate to. Do you have something that irritates you? Would you like to r.a.n.t. about it?
Of course you would! Join the R.a.n.t. blog hop today.
When will this ranting take place?
The second Monday of each month.
How long should my r.a.n.t. be?
The length is up to you, I find one or two short paragraphs enough to quench my rage.
How do I join?
Let me know you are interested. To the right, you'll notice a banner you can proudly use on your site.
Who else is participating?
Glad you asked.
Joining me for November 2015
Alex J. Cavanaugh
Chrys Fey
Is this a continual blog hop?
For me, it's a continual series I'll be doing every second Monday of every month. If this is something you'd like to do on a regular basis with me, that would be awesome. Or you can sign up for a single month. It's up to you, whatever you can manage. Just let me know.
What should I r.a.n.t. about?
Whatever you feel irate about. Preferably, something that's been bugging you.
Examples: Your writing - the supermarket - annoying people - drivers
The sky is the limit.
Happens all too often. I think by the time people are adults, they've had so many experiences, they base everything on those experiences as a sort of shortcut. But life's more interesting when you really get to know people and communicate with them instead of assuming things!
ReplyDeleteSo true. And you know what they say when you assume right?
DeleteHi again Jeffrey! I am quite a few years older than you and it pleases me to know that you belong to a generation (perhaps the last generation) that loved the outdoors and spent every waking hour getting plenty of fresh air and exercise.
ReplyDeleteAlong with a heaping helping of humor I am a great believer in open, honest communication. (See my current post.) It concerns me that nobody else has commented on your BOTB results. I don't know what's going on and I don't want to pry. Just know that you have a loyal friend in me, good buddy.
Once again, I appreciate the comments. I think whenever we do postings on the weekend, turnout is always low. That's one reason I never like to post on the weekends.
DeleteI shall certainly stop by and check out your post for the day.
Oh gosh I forgot to do a rant! :( I'm sorry. I'm not even sure if I can come up with a last minute rant.
ReplyDeletePlaying outdoors is what we did when we were kids. Now I look at my nephews and shake my head. My 8 year old nephew is addicted to his Xbox and my youngest has an Iphone.
There's been times when I jumped to the wrong conclusion and it usually was because of miscommunication.
No worries about the rant Chrys, things come up.
DeleteI think at the end of the day, when people jump to the wrong conclusion, it tends to blow up in their face. Always so much better to go to the source of the problem (especially when they are supposed to be your friend) and find out what is going on instead of just jumping to the wrong conclusions and telling other people.
Thanks for stopping by.
While I forgot about ranting today, I technically still did! Will go add the badge.
ReplyDeletePeople who jump to conclusions usually never back down from those decisions either.
I agree, looked very much like a rant to me. It was a good one too. I apologize my comment was so long. I tend to do that.
DeleteIt's sad when people are afraid to back down. But by then, stubbornness takes roots.
In the pursuit of logic we have to consider only sentences with meaning. I guess ranting is a handy way of expressing ones logical beliefs and having a few emotional outbursts all rolled up into one - Dr Leonard H McCoy would approve, hehe.
ReplyDeleteSounds good to me.
DeleteHi Jeffrey ... I'd like to rant sometimes - then I like to forget ... so I suspect I'll pass ... but will laugh along with the entries or agree with the rant ... enjoy it .. cheers Hilary
ReplyDeleteAs long as you enjoy what I write, I'll be happy.
DeleteI think I rant a lot, but there's not much rhyme or reason as far as my scheduling goes.
ReplyDeleteI used to love jumping. Not these days. Now I'm afraid I'll damage my legs or hurt myself in some highly inconvenient way.
Arlee Bird
Tossing It Out
I'm in the same boat as you. And to be honest, who wants to jump in a boat anyway?
DeleteSongs come to mind... Of course, there are the Van Halen and Pointer Sisters "Jump" songs that were released within months of each other. But there's another one, from junior high dances...
ReplyDelete"You know you make me wanna shout!"
Lots of jumping during that song.
I'm getting tired from just all the jumping you are talking about.
DeleteGosh, I'll second that one. People are so trigger happy these days. I think we've lost that parental influence I grew up under where Mom and Dad asked me to think it through, see if from someone else's perspective, and take a deep breath before reacting.
ReplyDeleteAll good and valid points. Seeing from someone else's perspective, thinking things through and above all else, teaching children to not be so impetuous.
DeleteWe live in Fast Food Times. Unfortunately, this doesn't apply strictly to food. So, yes, I think that many people jump to a conclusion too quickly.
ReplyDeleteWhich is what causes road rage and such. People are in such a hurry, they fret and worry about losing thirty seconds to be somewhere.
DeleteGreat rant, Jeffrey! Things sure have changed over the years and not necessarily for the better. Although I'm not religious, the bible admonishment to "judge not" is one I wholeheartedly embrace. There's an old expression that comes to mind: "Never assume. It makes an ass of u and me. " Sadly, this has become a judgmental society.
ReplyDeleteSo true. And with or without the bible, everyone has a moral code of right and wrong. But in this society it's so much easier to dismiss what we know is right, in pursuit of our own happiness. Right, go right out the window, unfortunately.
DeleteRight again. :) Are these rants only once a month? I bet there's enough material for a weekly feature. I have one coming up, but not sure of the exact date yet. It also has to do with sounding 'old'.
DeleteIf you check out the r.a.n.t. tab above you'll see that for three years I was doing rants on a weekly basis. However, In order to get to more blog hops and work on my own writing, I have decided to cut back to once a month. It's possible in the future I may go back to once a week. We'll see.
DeleteYes, we are a society that "jumps" too quickly and too often to judgement. Sometimes I wonder if it the drive for perfection that seems to permeate western society makes us judge others harshly because we're so very conscious of our own imperfections.
ReplyDeleteI do try not to judge too quickly. But then there are times when a person seems do so without giving it a second thought. Sad really.
Delete