Climbing Down

In order to get the most out of this post please take a moment to look at the cartoon image I included to illustrate the illogical idea of ¨climbing down¨. Some people use this phrase when he or she really means stepping down. This is an oxymoron* and there are hundreds of other examples.

The point is that if you climbed down, you’re body would be in a verticle crawling position that only an insect or perhaps a rodent is capable of achieving. Anyway, as I read some old correspondence I began feeling queasy in the stomach as if I were ¨climbing down¨. I had nothing to do one afternoon, so I began reading old correspondence I had stored away in my computer…

I’m referring to a cybernetic friendship that went by the wayside in a few weeks – one of my first attempts to connect with someone from another country. The friendship turned to a default gray and could never be reactivated no matter how much I rearranged my carefully-sculpted thoughts. I think it died because we shared too much, too soon.

No matter what reason… I got annoyed at myself to the point that I had to skim rather than read it through. The editor in my head doggedly began reproaching me through each and every agonizing line that I can’t believe I wrote such squishy-squashy stuff. A debate precipitated round and round in my head: Why does time and perspective make some of our written thoughts appear so half-baked? Is it a sign of growth to detect such things? Maybe I second guess myself too much. Ugh!

© Reflector 2007

P.S. If you’re interested in knowing more about Oxymorons, they’re composed of two words that contradict one another, yet are used together from time to time out of habit or sloppy English: Oxy in Greek means wise and moron means dumb.