I received more hits and more comments from my post on The Social Network than anything else I’ve written in the past 2 1/2 years. My blogmaster, Lena West, told me during our training sessions that it was important to hook into what’s happening in the world. Evidently, The Social Network is very happening. I got a lot of hits when I wrote about Michael Jackson’s death, Tiger Woods’ apology and LeBron James ascendancy, but nothing like the traffic generated by this new film and its ardent viewers.
Some of the comments were not that friendly. You can read them and see what I mean. I somehow got it in my head that the founder of Facebook’s name was Matt. Simple mistake. Sometimes I call my children by the wrong name. It’s not intentional. Just a brain disconnect in the moment. You’d think I had committed a sin by some of the reactions I got. It’s a funny world out there in cyberspace.
A few years ago I pulled my car into a parking lot. And you know how if you pull forward to the next row, you can exit straight ahead instead of having to back out. I must have gotten a little too close to the hulking SUV next to me. It happens. It’s happened to you, right? What do you do? Do you say a little something under your breath–a mild oath? I do, sometimes. When I got back to my car, the SUV owner, now departed, had left a note under my windshield wiper with a two syllable insult in a rather childish scrawl. Spoiled the next hour of my day. Until I shared it with someone. I figured that the person who wrote it must be very angry, and that I happened to receive the brunt of that anger that day. It wasn’t really about me. That’s what I have to believe about people who want to dismiss anything I have to say because it doesn’t meet their standards.
I happen to know this for a fact, because I used to be one of those types. No more. Forgiving myself and having compassion for the human condition has softened my harsh, judgmental and critical voice. May those critics preying on others’ misdemeanors find that compassion for themselves as well.
Ah, Jane- it does happen to us all! Doesn’t it feels great to be at a point where whole days aren’t lost in misery over what someone else thinks of us?
I’ll admit, I still lose a couple of hours sometimes, but it’s so much better now that I’ve learned that my place in the world is no less valid or important than anyone else’s.
I cherish your posts because you truly connect on so many levels. Thank you for sharing!
Ah, Jane- it does happen to us all! Doesn’t it feel great to be at a point where whole days aren’t lost in misery over what someone else thinks of us?
I’ll admit, I still lose a couple of hours sometimes, but it’s so much better now that I’ve learned that my place in the world is no less valid or important than anyone else’s.
I cherish your posts because you truly connect on so many levels. Thank you for sharing!
Ah, Jane- it does happen to us all! But doesn’t it feel great to be at a point where whole days aren’t lost in misery over what someone else thinks of you?
I’ll admit, I still lose a couple of hours sometimes, but it’s so much better now that I’ve learned that my place in the world is no less valid or important than anyone else’s.
I cherish your posts because you truly connect on so many levels. Thank you for sharing!
-Beth
Well Jane I can top that. When my kids were little I often called them by the kids across the street’s names!
Exposing your vulnerableness is so very becoming Jane.
My mom used to say, if you can’t say something nice don’t say anything at all. Sometimes I have to tell my inner critic this too! Forgiveness starts within…
Well, June…I mean Jan…I mean Jean….ah JANE: what’s in a name? A rose by any other name and all that. Some people spend way too much time worrying about the insignificant little things. YOU on the other hand, capture the importance of life. Thanks for sharing.
Terry
@Terry
You forgot Joan! That’s another common name I get called. Of course, it irks me no end when I’m called by the wrong name, but a simple correction usually suffices. No need for bludgeoning, right?
Social Network – great movie!
Nah…I can’t remember the founder’s name either. Still a great movie. I got the message and enjoyed it, isn’t that what matters?
Just last week, I wrote a post about a new store opening and wrote the wrong town. So much for publicity! I received a lovely note from their PR person asking if I would mind changing it. Would I mind? Of course not. She could easily have been critical but instead responded with graciousness. My kind of person.
Yours (and mine) was a simple mistake and an easy one to make. To err is human. To admit it is the true telling of a person’s character.
Even if it does happen to us all, it feels like you are the only one when it happens to you, and that’s part of what’s so hard. Being vulnerable makes us open, and sometimes something really great seeps in. Thank you for the divergent thinking, for leading us to a more open perspective.