RMiddleton

Subject-verb agreement is something I dislike. For me it's an obstacle between thoughts and words. Alas we cannot communicate in pure thought and we have developed words as an imprecise medium of exchange. I translate my thoughts into words so that I may share them with you. Words also interfere with thoughts, it has been proven. “Interfere” sounds only negative when I could have said “affect.” The image coming to my mind is like clean water and sewage. Any backflow is contamination. I love words! Now might be a good time for me to say that. Words aren't sewage. But I do think words are an incomplete or insufficient translation of thoughts. Example: I find myself thinking, and often before I know it speaking, a cliché. Some phrase I've heard 1,000 times comes to me and I happily grab that prefab piece and add it to my current pondering. It's a relief from the burden of thought. New thinking is work. Prefab ideas, words, and phrases are welcome short cuts. That is, until I realize I'm not saying what I mean — perhaps I am not even sure of my own ideas anymore because I let preexisting ones infiltrate my thoughts. In almost all cases the best remedy is time. Taking time to stop and think and let myself perceive the world, that's a powerful antidote to regurgitating prechewed ideas.

“Where your mind don't go” is my own agrammatical transformation of a line in a They Might Be Giants song.

Actual lyrics: Where your eyes don't go a part of you is hovering It's a nightmare that you'll never be discoverin'

Mine: Where your mind don't go a part of you is suffering It's a nightmare that you'll ever be discovering

Snips of songs have been repurposed by my subconscious. They are released into consciousness at unpredictable moments. I take meaning from them. The above lines, my version, connect with me. (I choose “don't” instead of “doesn't” to match the rhythm. Subject-verb agreement is an unnecessary interference.) Well, I was about to explain the meaning behind my revision to the song lyrics but I think it is clear.

Haha after all that about subject-verb agreement I just realized I could change my wording to:

Where your mind won't go a part of you is suffering

That sounds better and may convey my feelings better too. Sigh. I'm not changing this whole post because I still mean what I say about language and thought.

Have a good one!