I remember as a child we would play the pass it down game, some call it the telephone game. You tell the person sitting next to you something and they tell that to the person sitting next to them what you told them. Even if the line is not completed, the last few people to receive the message can compare this with the original, and some messages will be unrecognizable after only a few steps.
I remember this being a fun party game, it helps to teach others that it is harmful to spread gossip or to say something to someone you would not like repeated.
Now that we have the Internet and e-mail, the 2010 computer version of pass it down game is not always so funny.
The sending of e-mails isn’t one person whispering to another, what you write does carry a powerful message. It is something that can be read and re-read.
You might not want everyone to hear what you are saying in your e-mail. The reply all button and forward button are actually really scary. Once you press those buttons you can’t take it back. What you meant to say, or what you were feeling, might not come out correctly when you type it. I have felt many different things when that has happened to me. Angry, sad, sorry, a feeling of YIKES I wish that didn’t happen.
Forgiveness of others and forgiveness of self are sometimes hard things to do.
So now my new e-mail policy is think about what the e-mail says and respond 2 days later, or better yet call the person and don’t reply to the e-mail.
Happy September.
