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| The cover from something I wrote. |
I'm not sad about it, nor do I feel alone. All online citizens are simply pieces of that massive system whether we recognize it, through humble natures, or not: Sometimes we're too busy being super-stars (by our own regard). It's just part of life.
Maybe I should be a little troubled by that.
Disruptive behavior individualizes us—it is as simple as a person sitting down to write another person a digital letter. Not an email to find out more about my nonprofit. Not a reminder regarding school loans. Not from a highly-respected company in China asking if I'd like photo retouching services (actually, I'm not sure if "Rick" really even writes those). An actual letter in digital form from someone who went inside the storm, looked for the details then sat down to find out more.
Such an email arrived this morning: Someone found me in that swirling torrent of exclamation marks, hashtags and "lol"s, then went a step beyond the obligatory double-tap on a filtered photo. Though not the first email I've received from someone I've never interacted with vis-a-vis, this one made me pause, reflect, and write a post; I haven't written for myself in such a long time.
They did their research. They knew I traveled, had lived in Park City at one point, skied (not snowboarded), and connected about being from the east coast. After sharing a little of their life, then asked sincerely for my opinion on how to live a more freely. They even crafted an original subject line.
This effort deserved not only equal attention in my reply, but also a step beyond—as they had taken a step beyond by pausing to read more deeply, search for questions they really wanted answered, and then writing.
So I stopped checking updates. I gave them my undivided attention by letting my mind consider what they were asking and then replying with personal experiences and a link to where I felt they could find more. Then I disconnected the internet long enough to write this; to share with you how it felt to be noticed and taken time out for.
It feels good.
. . .
The title "Piece of Mind" was the subject of the email I received this morning; I thought it was appropriate for this post. Want to know the link I shared? Here you go: http://ginabegin.uberflip.com/t/63302
Great post Gina. You are an amazing, inspirational, and beautiful person, inside and out. So happy that our paths crossed through the social media whirlwind.
ReplyDeleteGina, your post reminds me that social media is much like a sand mandala in that the connections are often impermanent. So glad you were able to make a good connection. Looking forward to reading more of your posts!
ReplyDeleteHi Gina - Thanks for this post. It offers a good reminder to take time in our conversations with others. You never know the impact it will have! By the way, I clicked on your uberflip link and it didn't work. I'd love to give it a read.
ReplyDeleteI know... the original person who helped me get it up didn't tell me until later that it had expired :). Can't blame him, though, he was helping me for free. I'm working on getting it on another platform, Meghan, and reworking it a bit, but timing is pushing it as a back-seat priority right now. Thank you for wanting to read it! I'm going to get it back up and then I'll update the links (and let all of social media know, I'm sure. ha ha :)
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