Many years ago at Christmas, my father-in-law gave me a beautiful cross-stitch project. I started it then got busy with other things and rarely picked it up to work on it. I missed it and thought about it from time to time but my excuse was, "I just don't have time to work on it!"
The reason?
I was wasting way too much time on Facebook. Surprise!
Just a few days ago, I had a revelation - that FB was stressing me out!
That did it.
I was fed up.
About 2 or 3 years ago, I went 'kicking and screaming' into Facebook but once I did, I had a blast. I reconnected with old friends and made new ones. I 'instant messaged' people and had some great conversations. I fell in love with dogs that I will never meet and discovered that in fact, I had met some of them prior to connecting with them on FB. My high school graduating class is planning an 'interim' reunion since we've all reconnected and it's been a lovefest ever since. I used it as a primary way of communicating with people and even had fun playing 20 games of Words With Friends.
Lately,however, it's turned into a political rant and it seems that so many people are just so angry. About everything. It's become a venue for "us vs. them. YOU'RE WRONG AND I'M RIGHT and don't you forget it!"
Granted, many causes are valid and it's important to get the word out. But too many people are using it as a way to perhaps try to convince others to come around to THEIR way of thinking.
Not going to happen.
I don't share many of the beliefs but of course I respect people's right to express them. However, being human, I found that even just glancing at the headlines or the few words on a sign was enough to stress me out. And the darling dog pictures didn't alleviate the stress.
So, I said to myself, "Well, gee....if something is causing you stress, then get rid of the cause!"
So I did. At least temporarily; I have no idea how long it will last.
Last night, I worked on my cross-stitch project for nearly 2 hours. It was relaxing and I'm creating something of beauty. It forced me to use my brain. And I realized that by wasting time on FB and not doing the cross-stitch, I was not honoring the gift my father-in-law so thoughtfully bought me many Christmases ago.
I'm putting love into it. It's relaxing. My cross-stitch project contains no political rants; no bragging; no pictures of food; no details of someone's stomach virus.
In short, I'm getting back to basics - the basics of just "being." Of creating. Of doing something just for me.
Just imagine what we could accomplish if everyone did this.
The reason?
I was wasting way too much time on Facebook. Surprise!
Just a few days ago, I had a revelation - that FB was stressing me out!
That did it.
I was fed up.
About 2 or 3 years ago, I went 'kicking and screaming' into Facebook but once I did, I had a blast. I reconnected with old friends and made new ones. I 'instant messaged' people and had some great conversations. I fell in love with dogs that I will never meet and discovered that in fact, I had met some of them prior to connecting with them on FB. My high school graduating class is planning an 'interim' reunion since we've all reconnected and it's been a lovefest ever since. I used it as a primary way of communicating with people and even had fun playing 20 games of Words With Friends.
Lately,however, it's turned into a political rant and it seems that so many people are just so angry. About everything. It's become a venue for "us vs. them. YOU'RE WRONG AND I'M RIGHT and don't you forget it!"
Granted, many causes are valid and it's important to get the word out. But too many people are using it as a way to perhaps try to convince others to come around to THEIR way of thinking.
Not going to happen.
I don't share many of the beliefs but of course I respect people's right to express them. However, being human, I found that even just glancing at the headlines or the few words on a sign was enough to stress me out. And the darling dog pictures didn't alleviate the stress.
So, I said to myself, "Well, gee....if something is causing you stress, then get rid of the cause!"
So I did. At least temporarily; I have no idea how long it will last.
Last night, I worked on my cross-stitch project for nearly 2 hours. It was relaxing and I'm creating something of beauty. It forced me to use my brain. And I realized that by wasting time on FB and not doing the cross-stitch, I was not honoring the gift my father-in-law so thoughtfully bought me many Christmases ago.
I'm putting love into it. It's relaxing. My cross-stitch project contains no political rants; no bragging; no pictures of food; no details of someone's stomach virus.
In short, I'm getting back to basics - the basics of just "being." Of creating. Of doing something just for me.
Just imagine what we could accomplish if everyone did this.