Hack

To hack something is to chop in an unorganised manner. A hack is a taxi in London England. Hackney is a dialect, the language that is used by people who drive hacks. To hack is to cough a lot and harshly, almost without much control. To hack is to break into, as in getting into the program of a computer and, for instance, copying parts of it illegally. Yet, ‘hack’ is a programming language used by Facebook.
A hacking motion is as you would do with an axe. Yet we have this tool called a hacksaw that is used to cut metal and without any hacking motion at all. We use a hoe to hack the ground when loosening the earth in our garden or to cut out weeds. In baseball when the batter misses at bat it is referred to as a hack. When one says, ‘I couldn’t hack it any longer’ they mean they could not tolerate something any longer.
Hacking is a crude action, no precision in it. When I hack into a computer it is fast and clumsy, though actually getting in is an art. If I were hollowing out a log to make a canoe I would start by hacking out the main portion I did not want. Then, as I got closer to, so as not to hack through the bottom, I might adjust my motion to, maybe, shaving. To hack is a coarse action, gross, large crude cuts are hacks
Thursdays seem to be the challenge in writing these weekly posts. Feels like I have to hack my way through sometimes. But then, hacking one’s way through can be a way to get past a pot hole or roadblock or any of those ordinary life ‘things’ that can sometimes hack into our momentum. Did you know that Marvel comics has a mutant character called Hack? I can only guess it’s appearance and special powers.

Hacking is a clumsy action. It lacks being deliberate and precise, less caring about the process, more just hacking away. How I interact with others sometimes includes hacking. When I am self absorbed, more goal driven than mindful of the needs of others, blindly thrashing forward, that is hacking my way through life. Wow. Yeah sometimes it happens and now that I notice/admit it I will do less of this kind of hacking. You?