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Blog 525 – 01.15.2017

Chain Letters 2.0, Do It Or Die

Years ago you might receive an actual letter or an email that usually started off promising health, wealth, or happiness if only you would pass the letter on to so many friends. Often however there was a not even veiled threat at the end of the letter promising doom and gloom, death and disaster if you failed to pass on the letter. These things went round and round and were not just annoying but silly and stupid. Social media has seen a great revival of the “Chain letter” idea. It is and has always been a marketing ploy. If an offer sounds to good to be true it most likely is not true and if God had to threaten His children with an eternal burning lake of fire to get them to pass His love letter along then that would not say much for a loving God or for a religion that is supposed to love and care about people would it? I confess that I got back on Social Media primarily to promote this blog. I would like to get as many people as possible reading it in the hopes of developing a following or a platform that might enable me to publish a book someday. I do not charge nor am I pushing any products or services. I avoid posting or reposting anything to anyone else’s timelines with the exception of birthday notes or comments to their posts.

The only thing I push is http://www.theencouragingword.co and I try to be entertaining, thoughtful, and uplifting in everything I put out for public consumption. I do not consider my blog to be a chain letter but more like a note in a bottle cast in to the sea with the hope that whoever finds the note might be encouraged. No promises of cash coming to you or threats of dire circumstances if you fail to read my blog or share it with you friends. Please do share anything you like and feel free to tell me you think I am all wet anytime you like. I had a training instructor once that after a lecture or training session would remark, “Are there any comments, questions, snide remarks?” Of course, like most if not all of you I prefer “attaboys” and “way to goes” but I know that everyone will not always agree with my point of view and that I can sometimes get it wrong. I always appreciate remarks, questions, and even snide remarks for they let me know that my words are being read. And that is the goal of every writer – to be read.

There is a great quote from the last verse of Rufus Wainwright’ wonderful song Hallelujah that says, “I did my best. It wasn’t much. I couldn’t reach so I tried to touch. I didn’t try to fool you. And even though it all went wrong I’ll stand before the Lord Of Song with nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah.” No one has to “Amen” every word that I say, write, or sing and that is not what I am looking for – just an occasional hallelujah will more than do.

Your friend and fellow traveler,
Breaker of chains especially chain letters and I have not died yet,
David White