Friends
Facebook has been my weapon of choice in terms of social interaction for a long while now. It is a poor substitute when used as a replacement to meeting people face to face. Yet this is how I have been using it for years.
I read some Blogger's take on what appears on our Facebook timelines which highlighted some issues I had become desensitized to; Posts which have been coined 'Humble Brags,' boasts often disguised as self-deprecation. Such as:
"I'm going crazy..stuck on a flight to Paris for 12
hours with nothing but my iPhone and laptop to entertain me. Someone help
me."
Or mundane bulletins of day to day life. Both of these 'crimes' I have occasionally been guilty of but I will be careful not to partake in now.
To be fair much of my News Feed is populated with links to interesting articles/artwork etc. But a lot of it I don't find life affirming.
A major frustration for me is the way Personal Message conversations peter out. It's like there is a finite attention span which is reached after about four interactions and it's rarely me who has lost interest.
Twitter and this Blog will hopefully provide an outlet for my thoughts where I won't have that need for constant validation that Facebook services. Knowing that this Blog and my Twitter feed are pretty much unrequited means I know my posts are not influenced by a need to create a favourable impression.
Twitter and this Blog will hopefully provide an outlet for my thoughts where I won't have that need for constant validation that Facebook services. Knowing that this Blog and my Twitter feed are pretty much unrequited means I know my posts are not influenced by a need to create a favourable impression.
Change
'All change is good' is the accepted mantra within the 'Self-help' fraternity. It's supposed to keep things vital, shake us out of complacency and prevent us from sleepwalking into mediocrity.
Change doesn't have to be painful but it is quite often uncomfortable. Perhaps the degree of pain is actually proportional to the eventual pay-off, once the new order has been established.
The changes I am in the process of making are of the less painful variety but I hope they will bring me the happiness I desire.
On the career front Illustration has stalled and jewellery commissions have slowed to a trickle. subconsciously I may well have sabotaged my own prospects in these disciplines in order to make way for what I really want to do.
A Fallow period is often a precursor to change; this is something I am going through myself now.
Purpose
Finding purpose is surely the most important thing in life. Sure you could argue that just experiencing the pleasures and pain of life is a purpose in itself. Suffering hardships and how we deal with them are said to be how our Soul's achieve growth. But examining our talents and making the most of our gifts is maybe something we owe ourselves.#
Timing
At the moment I feel more aware of the fleeting and fragile nature of existence than at any other point of my life. Having seen the decline of a relative due to Dementia, the disorientation of other patients in her ward. and the passing of a Fantasy Artist I knew from St Ives earlier this year, I feel I shouldn't continue to avoid a commitment to doing what makes me happy.
There are financial implications with starting something new but I have reached a point in my life where the consequences of a failure to act outweigh the risks.
Finding purpose is surely the most important thing in life. Sure you could argue that just experiencing the pleasures and pain of life is a purpose in itself. Suffering hardships and how we deal with them are said to be how our Soul's achieve growth. But examining our talents and making the most of our gifts is maybe something we owe ourselves.#
“Are you paralyzed with fear? That’s a good sign. Fear is
good. Like self-doubt, fear is an indicator. Fear tells us what we have to do.
Remember one rule of thumb: the more scared we are of a work or calling, the
more sure we can be that we have to do it.” Steven
Pressfield, The
War of Art: Break Through the Blocks Win Your Inner Creative Battles
At the moment I feel more aware of the fleeting and fragile nature of existence than at any other point of my life. Having seen the decline of a relative due to Dementia, the disorientation of other patients in her ward. and the passing of a Fantasy Artist I knew from St Ives earlier this year, I feel I shouldn't continue to avoid a commitment to doing what makes me happy.
There are financial implications with starting something new but I have reached a point in my life where the consequences of a failure to act outweigh the risks.
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