My First Piece of Hate Mail

hate

A few days ago, I received this comment on the blog:

Screen shot 2009-10-29 at 11.41.25 AM

At first, I laughed. I mean, how can you not appreciate the subtle nuance of “yousuck@hotmail.com”?

Then I thought, “Wow, this person was upset enough by something I said to leave a comment that forcefully told me stop speaking.”

Then, it stung a little bit.

As any person who creates knows, you put something of yourself into that which you create. I create on this blog. I create thoughts and ideas and hopefully a new type of reality that we can step into together. So as a creator, when someone says, overtly or covertly, that they do not like what you have created, it stings.

But this shouldn’t be surprising. Not after the past week I had. Last week was a great week, and the Devil hates when people have great weeks. I’m reminded of something I heard at STORY:

The devil wants to steal your stories by convincing you they’re not worth writing.

Isn’t that the truth? You create and you write and you send your tiny, little creation out into the world hoping it makes it. You tell your story and try to live it out and the devil wants to make you believe it’s worthless. No one wants to read it.

It’s like when a nest of turtle eggs hatch and those tiny little turtles make a sprint for the ocean. Along the way, some are eaten by birds, lizards or fish. Some don’t even make it out of the nest. Our stories, much like tiny little turtle hatchlings, are delicate.

But we keep creating. We keep telling the devil to “shove it” and we keep creating, and telling, and sharing, and declaring: “This is my story. This is my song. Praising my Maker, all the day long.”

Have you ever been discouraged? Has anyone ever told you your story wasn’t worth writing? More importantly, did you believe them? Do you need to “pick up the pen” and start writing again?

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Contributor: Justin Wise

A religious deviant who enjoys coffee, collared shirts, spending time with his wife and son, learning about quantum physics and creatively exploring the riches of the Spirit of Christ. Culture + Faith + Technology. Contact the author
  • Steve
  • I wish I could use this as my real email. I would. I totally would.
  • Steve
  • Wow. Thanks for sharing this Justin...
  • If it helps somebody out, right?
  • techmirth
    Take it as a badge of honor. If you're not ruffling feathers, no one is listening. http://www.mondaymorningmemo.com/?ShowMe=ThisMe...
  • Ryan C.
    I heard a good quote--if you've made an enemy, at least you're standing up for something.

    This is HILARIOUS by the way.
  • I know, right? Like, "yousuck@hotmail.com"? That's pure genius.
  • "You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life." - Winston Churchill.

    I also had a much longer reply to this and I thought it was pretty clever until I realized that the nitwit in the email said "shut up" instead of "you suck" proving that it is *I* and not Justin who not only "sucks" but is the one who needs to "shut up"
  • I'd take that as a sign that you're getting somewhere in the blogosphere - someone took the time to notice you, type "you suck" in your comment box, and hit "Submit". I can't wait til my own gets big enough for someone to give me a "screw you" in the comments section:).

    And did anyone see if "yousuck@hotmail.com" was registered? There's probably a few uses there, especially catering to angry people...
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