I’ve always blogged pretty much the same way. Big photo at the top from my life which I want to tie to my content somehow. Earthy images shot by my humble hand, never trained a bit in photography, feature. I think it was my lack of confidence in my photography that led me to vlogging and eventually, creating e-courses which were video-centered. Because I knew one thing about myself: I could talk. I remember Oprah saying that something similar had been said about her to her mother, “Hattie Mae, this girl sure can talk.”
Talking about what’s on your heart can be a slippery slope. Because things can change from moment to moment, but the internet, blogs, PDFs and videos preserve your words forever. In the land of 140 characters or so, words disappear in the feed, and often we don’t even remember what we said last week, we simply learn to compete with ourselves for the most “likes” and “retweets”, waiting for the supposed right ones to catch on. But people remember what you say. They will hold you to it, as they should.
When conducting business about matters of the heart, body, creativity, what matters most is to be consistent in our messages. Conjuring the energy to continue talking about the same things in different and interesting ways can be challenging, which is why I think the model of social media works so well. We can repeat ourselves day after tomorrow and not have to worry about originality in a wild sea of posts. My question for those of us in the business of what is ultimately of the spirit is, What can we say and do that will give us energy rather than deplete it? And, Who will we be again and again when we stand on our own porches and open a beautiful space for our patrons to gather and commune? How will it feel if no one comes by? It’s like strip mall to lemonade stand.
My approach for years has been to help people heal behind the scenes, so that when they show up to their families and communities, they feel well-versed, spirited, supported by the unseen, protected by their own knowledge of boundaries and willing to walk in self-love with Spirit at the center before taking on anything else. Gathering in community to reveal what’s sitting on the heart requires vulnerability and self-knowledge. It requires a desire to source your own magic. It also requires a good deal of commitment and focus, as well as time set aside for restoration.
My examination of what social media gives and takes away from the kind of communities I want to build will carry on indefinitely. Maybe it’s because I want to do things as efficiently as I can, but with as much heart as I can. Once the eyes are open to a thing, there’s no turning back.
A dear friend’s father once said to me, “The things I say no to make me stronger.” What I took away was, when we know something isn’t good for us, why do we keep doing it? We humans have every tricky way in the book to justify our addictions by calling them something else. I’ve been looking at things very closely lately, and realizing that not doing so is a result of not wanting to see what’s really there.
I think it takes effort make things matter, and count.
Thank you for shining a light into the darker places Pixie! I love how, when I often believe my work in an area is near completion, some synchronous act, some song, some word I read, shines a light from a different angle and I have that ‘ohhhh’ moment….there is still work to be done here! Your words above about justifying addictions have shone a light for me. Reaching for my journal now…
I’m glad to just sit here in silence and soak in your words. Social media has never fed me in the same way. And while I agree that people will remember what you said, I also think that means there’s a record of each of us as we evolve. I still physically blog the same way – picture, words – but in not the same way at all when it comes to content and style. I like seeing that, and knowing what brought it about.
Love knowing that you are evolving and still writing, D.
“…when we know something isn’t good for us, why do we keep doing it?” I have been pondering this very question in my own life recently. The answer {for me} seems to be that I get stuck in familiar patterns and I don’t question them until suddenly I realise I’m mired in muck.
It’s not easy to break these patterns, but I’m trying.
Anne-Marie, you’re not alone!
The feeling of calm and groundedness I sense in reading your words and also in contemplating what feels like a return home, to my own beloved blog space, well, it’s a green light indicator. This turning season of turning to fall I find myself gathering the acorns necessary to sustain me in a winter of deepening. So excited to stick closer to home, to hang my shingle on the lemonade stand! This feels like a ball that was waiting for the nudge over the edge for a good while 🙂 Love reading your words here on your own home grounds, Pixie!