I It's Nice to Put a Voice to Friends
Over a great many years, almost since the first computer we had that could connect to the internet, I have enjoyed discovering new friends via chatrooms, online games, and other means by which paths cross on the World Wide Web. While this kind of interaction tends to remain ever a part of a virtual world, some connections have proven too strong and a mutual desire to add la<x>yers to the perception of one another had manifested itself.
I came to call this the removal of walls. One beauty of the internet, which is simultaneously a curse as even the most polished of coins has an opposite side, is the level of anonymity that one can achieve. From the very public to the intensely private to the downright counterfeit, one can be effectively anything or anyone they wish here. It is both a playground and a wasteland. Such is the nature of the world and those that people it in this age. For my part, regardless of the venue, I tend toward being myself in all things. To what degree I reveal myself is varied and incumbent on the particulars of where I find myself and with whom. While one may not get the whole picture, the picture they receive of me, so to speak, is no less genuine.
But that anonymity still remains as kind of barrier, a wall behind which to maintain some sense of privacy when it comes to the real "you". Only certain facets are put forth while the rest remains unseen and unknowable. My voice, which I have been told is most pleasing and not at all what is expected from a native Texan (it is true, I was born without a drawl) then represents an aspect of myself that in the written form remains an unknown. Needless to say, there have been times when the great outer barrier has been lowered enough to allow a select few access to one of the next barriers, voice.
Whether via online means or the telephone, I have had the pleasure of putting a voice to the person. Generally this is after such time as another barrier, the photo or image, had fallen as well, putting a face to the words and concepts that paint only the most blurred and indecipherable visuals within the mind's eye. Absent a photo, the voice alone has the same effect, something I call "Disc Jockey Syndrome". For now I will leave the precise definition of that for a future post.
Needless to say, reaching the voice barrier allows a simpler form of communication that is at once the more complex. Talking introduces context through tone, inflection, and other spoken cues. Furthermore the good old "LOL" is supplanted by the far more satisfying tones of another's laughter. This is something I delight in and if I can bring out someone's laugh on our first conversation I consider that quite a worthwhile accomplishment.
I am very much a creature of my senses. Such are those who consider themselves sensual by nature. The term tends to invoke only the tactile, but the deeply sensual are such by an order of five. That is to say, all five senses become a part of true sensuality. The ears are often overlooked in that regard as it is easy enough to forget that the sound of a whispered thought or simply the way words are spoken can awaken the whole body every bit as much as touch or sight.
With this in mind, it is easy to understand why hearing a friend's voice has such vast appeal. Perhaps now some who read this will look upon their own experiences with hearing someone's voice for the first time with a whole new sense of appreciation for such occurrences. Listen first with your ears, then with your mind, then with all that you are - therein will you find the true joy of listening to another's spoken words.
I came to call this the removal of walls. One beauty of the internet, which is simultaneously a curse as even the most polished of coins has an opposite side, is the level of anonymity that one can achieve. From the very public to the intensely private to the downright counterfeit, one can be effectively anything or anyone they wish here. It is both a playground and a wasteland. Such is the nature of the world and those that people it in this age. For my part, regardless of the venue, I tend toward being myself in all things. To what degree I reveal myself is varied and incumbent on the particulars of where I find myself and with whom. While one may not get the whole picture, the picture they receive of me, so to speak, is no less genuine.
But that anonymity still remains as kind of barrier, a wall behind which to maintain some sense of privacy when it comes to the real "you". Only certain facets are put forth while the rest remains unseen and unknowable. My voice, which I have been told is most pleasing and not at all what is expected from a native Texan (it is true, I was born without a drawl) then represents an aspect of myself that in the written form remains an unknown. Needless to say, there have been times when the great outer barrier has been lowered enough to allow a select few access to one of the next barriers, voice.
Whether via online means or the telephone, I have had the pleasure of putting a voice to the person. Generally this is after such time as another barrier, the photo or image, had fallen as well, putting a face to the words and concepts that paint only the most blurred and indecipherable visuals within the mind's eye. Absent a photo, the voice alone has the same effect, something I call "Disc Jockey Syndrome". For now I will leave the precise definition of that for a future post.
Needless to say, reaching the voice barrier allows a simpler form of communication that is at once the more complex. Talking introduces context through tone, inflection, and other spoken cues. Furthermore the good old "LOL" is supplanted by the far more satisfying tones of another's laughter. This is something I delight in and if I can bring out someone's laugh on our first conversation I consider that quite a worthwhile accomplishment.
I am very much a creature of my senses. Such are those who consider themselves sensual by nature. The term tends to invoke only the tactile, but the deeply sensual are such by an order of five. That is to say, all five senses become a part of true sensuality. The ears are often overlooked in that regard as it is easy enough to forget that the sound of a whispered thought or simply the way words are spoken can awaken the whole body every bit as much as touch or sight.
With this in mind, it is easy to understand why hearing a friend's voice has such vast appeal. Perhaps now some who read this will look upon their own experiences with hearing someone's voice for the first time with a whole new sense of appreciation for such occurrences. Listen first with your ears, then with your mind, then with all that you are - therein will you find the true joy of listening to another's spoken words.
56-60, M