Distraction in Action

“Look at this Trove, Treasures Untold” –The Little Mermaid, Part of Your World

A while back, my mother offered me a goofy looking three tier basket thingy.

Yikes!

My immediate response was, “Hell yeah I’ll take it!” Now before we go any further in this little saga, I would like to state for the record, I am afflicted with an Island Of Misfit Toys gene that overrides any rational thought regarding saying no to someone else’s unwanted miscellanea. My extra room is full of little junks waiting to be graced by my transformative touch.

“This is a Pickle George!”-Uncle Billy, It’s a Wonderful Life

Usually, I am quite the alchemist when it comes to upcycling and repurposing (I have a rain chain made of old spoons)

It's raining spoons

but the basket thingy proved to be a bit of a challenge. The contraption was not without issues. For one, it was a gaudy bugger; the lack-luster gold plating matched nothing. Two, functionality was nonexistent. The baskets hung too low making them awkward to add and retrieve items. No wonder someone discarded it.

My mistake was attempting to use it as is. I tried it on the bathroom vanity to hold make-up and such –nope. Next trick was to place it on my coffee bar to hold tea bags and packs of hot cocoa – nope again. Ugh! Feeling defeated but not beaten; I returned it to the junk queue as I mulled over its fate. I knew I needed to stop looking at it as it was and start to visualize what it could become.

“I Love it When a Plan Comes Together” -Colonel John "Hannibal" Smith

Every once in a while my basket stand project would pop into my head reminding me of its unfinished state. I continued about my business and then one day I had my ‘eureka’ moment. While scrolling through some old pictures on my phone I came upon photos of a lovely afternoon tea my husband and I enjoyed while on vacation. I found a photo of a stunning array of sweet and savory delights, served on a multi-tiered plate stand!

Tea at the g, Galway Ireland

Home Goods booty

So simple I wondered why I didn’t think of it sooner. All I needed was some paint to refresh the stand and a few attractive plates. Painting the stand would be easy, finding the right plates would be the challenge. Fate stepped in during a random mid-day browse of the clearance rack at Home Goods where I discovered my three perfect plates. I spray painted the stand black and voila, a star was born! I am super happy with my attractive and functional snack stack. Can’t wait to re-visit my treasure trove to find my next project.

Stack of Snacks!

I’ve written about my distractions and sense of purpose

in previous posts. Follow the links to read more and as always, thanks for visiting my blog!

Forgetting and Remembering My “Why”

Lately I’ve been feeling stressed about my writing. Maybe I don’t write often enough. Maybe I don’t share on enough platforms. Should I start tweeting? On top of this self-induced stress, I have been dealing with feelings of pressure to click, like, support, and follow other bloggers and guilt if I don’t subscribe to newsletters and join yet another chronic illness support group. I am overwhelmed by my social media life and I wonder how I let this happen.

The Origins of My Cyber-life

On-line support groups can be a bit of a blessing and a curse. When I was first diagnosed with Crohn’s I became ferociously involved in the virtual world of illness specific chatrooms. I learned plenty from my cyber friends and will always feel an abiding measure of gratitude for their willingness to share and assure me I was not alone. Oh, there were trolls back then and other nefarious types always at the ready to stir the pot but they weren’t the norm and they were quickly stifled. Fast-forward 14 years: The number of places on the internet for help and information has exploded and the dark side of it all has kept pace.

“I’m Tired, Tired of Playing the Game.” Lily Von Shtupp

Jumps to judgment seem to be more prevalent these days. When you are doing well, you want to share and you also can’t sound like a braggart (Do you even have a chronic illness; why are you here?) And when you feel abysmal and want to cry, you don’t want to come across as desperate or hopeless, even if it’s exactly how you feel (Whoa dude, you need professional help!) And heaven forbid you put it all out there only to be minimized or one-upped (That’s nothing; listen to what happened to me!)

I’ve been involved with some stellar groups where cultivating an atmosphere of practical support was their number one priority and I’ve stumbled into just as many that are exhausting. The clinging to pseudo-science “cures” (ah no, essential oils will not cure anything), relentless MLM (AKA pyramid schemes) sales pitches, and typos can be too much to tolerate.

Then there are the unfortunate souls, stuck in the past, unable to move on from old hurts despite receiving the advice and solace they seek. So while it helps to know I’m not alone in my chronic illness struggles, now that I know I’m not alone, do I really need to stay engaged with people rehashing ancient miseries or shilling for a MLM? I think not.

I’m Chronically Ill, Not a Pawn

Join one group or write one story and the rest of social media beats down your door looking for a piece of the action. My news feeds are non-stop full of ads; groups to join, pages to like, and sketchy products to buy. I receive email alerts, pings, and notifications all too often. If you like my page, I’ll like yours. Visitors to your page haven’t heard from you for a while, write a story! Others in your group are sharing, why not join in? Come see what you are missing! You have unread notifications. Ugh!

I highly doubt some poor someone has been checking my profile, searching for new content, and has sounded an alarm out of concern for my well-being. Nope! Cleverly designed algorithms prompt me to get involved and share. Website growth and strength depends on the generating of clicks. The more members they have, the more clicks they get, the more sponsors they can get, and that’s brings us to the real boss, money! Well I’ve had enough; I’ll share when I want to and with who I want to! And there it is.

I’ll Share When I Want to

As I was working through this piece, I recalled a similar grappling session from last year. I re-read that post in hopes of rediscovering my “Why.” Why did I start a blog? (the-process-is-the-goal) Re-reading my words of wisdom helped to ground me and bring everything back into focus.

I write because it helps me to sort my life.

I write because it soothes me.

I’m not creating a brand.

I’m not looking for fans.

If my words help another, I’m humbled.

It’s none of my business what others think of me.

So I will write when the mood hits me and bid a fond farewell to many of my on-line support groups and take a sabbatical from the few I will stay in. Social media will not go dark because I decided to leave a few groups, unfollow a few pages, and click a little less. I however, will shine on.

All photos from Pixabay