Share a Little Love

Share a Little Love

I will begin by saying I have no clue where this post is going. Unlike the vast majority of my pieces, I have not prewritten this one in my head because the subject just came up on social media. I know because I introduced it.

People post on face/book for the most diverse reasons imaginable because it is an open forum, and I respect that. The golden rule is that anything goes, so if you don’t like what you see, just move along. 

My goal is single-minded in purpose: I keep it upbeat and positive, even when I am on the brink of despair.

A good case in point would be the recent trials and tribulations I encountered while transitioning over from Terra Jean to Suzy Puente, my old computer to my new one. As some of you may have gleaned by now, I struggle with technology.

Instead of a bi/Polar rant, I think I will/Share a little love.

I know. I know. It’s hard to believe but the cat done escaped the bag. That being said, while at the height of my despair and feeling a rant hovering, I combatted it by posting a mural of a heart, and spewing out something generic about love. 

Think of it as going on automatic pilot.

I won’t say I am in the minority when it comes to keeping it upbeat, because there are others who feel the same as I do, and their posts mirror mine when it comes to beauty and positivism. I feel there are more of these individuals on face/book than there were five years ago, when I got on board. 

On the other hand, there are those who use face/book because they need the security and support of their friends to make it through their day. I get that and I respect it. There was a time when an at-home mom-or dad-was trapped in an existence which by definition, excluded the outer world. 

It was just Mom and the kid(s). 

Now when the baby goes down for a nap, there is some recourse other than reminiscing back to when you were not bound-and gagged-and trapped in your own isolated existence. Even if it only to bemoan your child’s diaper rash, at least you have escaped your repetitive jail for long enough to touch base with the outside world, and blow off a little steam.

So as I am scrolling along, and I see this plaintive attempt to free oneself from a temporary insanity, I can gallop past (“…better her than me” or just as likely, “…been there-done that.”), I can click like or I can comment. No fuss-no muss. 

The reality is that the individual in question isn’t posting for my benefit, but has instead a small circle of friends in similar circumstances, and they commiserate. All good in the ’hood. 

I have also found to be accurate, the old saying about avoiding religion and politics if you want to remain friends with others. Just remember that if you want to spray gasoline on an open fire, you’d best have an aloe vera plant available.

I once read a post where someone complained that all she saw were pics of babies, dogs and plates of food, and someone else asked, "What's wrong with that?" That's where I'm coming from. The more babies, dogs and plates of food there are, the happier these folks are, so what could be bad about that?

Early on in my social media career, it took a bit of getting used to seeing people post pictures of say, religious figures, or of their personal spiritual beliefs. Like I cared? No, actually, not because I cared-or didn’t-because this person’s post was not about me. Just move along, partner, nothing to see here. The post was there for others who did care.

It’s the same as me posting constantly about the Giants. If you are not a sports person, I may as well be posting about the health benefits of eating banana slugs, for all the relevance it has to you. No harm-no foul, to sneak one quick cliche in here.  

Speaking for myself/Small minds, small
 pleasures make the/World spin 'round
and 'round..

And let’s not even get into politics, especially these days. The only thing I will say is that it’s possible to be like Judy and me. We met as blogging buddies, way back in the beginning of Mark’s Work, probably just as much because neither one of us was necessarily political on our blogs.

We found that though we had little in common, we still grew to be friends. So much so that when the election of 2012 rolled around, we found ourselves in opposite camps. I was pretty amazed that she would even consider voting for the Republican candidate, but recognized that from the vantage point of our on-line friendship, it did not makes a bit of difference. 

We had not become friends in the first place because of our political affiliations, so why care all of the sudden?

Now on face/book there is a dear friend who is a Hilary supporter, and my take is, great success! More power to you. I happen to feel the Bern. However, she is so militant about her support, that she takes any criticism of Hilary to great heights.

What could be greater heights on social media than to unfriend someone? Oh, the ignominy of it all! Yet it happens… Not to me, of course, because I have learned how to tip-toe on the key boards of Terra Jean, and will continue to do so on Ms. Puente.

Or how about the guy you have met casually in person and seems like the most even-keeled individual, until it comes to our President, when he transforms a racist jerk? It’s not enough to criticize our nation’s leader for not attending the funerals of every officer ever gunned down in the line of duty, he is also an avid supporter of gun laws that protect his Second Amendment rights. Sigh.

But that is his prerogative and I respect that.

Folks seek comfort on face/book and there’s nothing wrong with that. Kindness is cheap-spread that stuff around.

Here is-yet-another pic of a rose...

I suspect that some people find my affinity for haiku, to be a little eccentric, and you know what? It is. I just find it more interesting to write in haiku form because it beats intoning, each time I post, “And this is picture of a rose I took yesterday…And this is a pic of a bird that I took yesterday…And this is a pic…you get the drift.

“So like it or lump it-take it to City Hall, and dump it,” as my father used to say.

Face/book exists for everyone-you just have to recognize that everyone is not the same, and we can all be grateful for that. After all, what if we were all the same and wanted to vote for the Donald?

Oops, I just offended a whole bunch of you and for that I am abjectly sorry.

Not.