Monday, August 2, 2010

IF WISHES WERE NICKELS

It's a funny thing about blogging... I frequently want to begin my posts with "Previously on Your Daily Dose...." and then give you a synopsis of one or more blogs that bring new readers up to speed, and remind old readers of what I am talking about. Yeah, I am talking about those little scenes they do at the beginning of many TV shows, to catch people up on what has gone down, so they aren't completely lost in that episode. Or, more importantly, they fully enjoy it, rather than just sorta getting it.



I started seriously blogging on Facebook. Eventually, I was dual blogging here and on Facebook. It was more or less the same blog in both places. Of course, in the beginning, I had no followers here and a decent following there. I had some friends who read my blog regularly (and commented). As luck would have it, Facebook had wayback week shortly after my blog launched. In the spirit of wayback week, I blogged about wayback stuff. Well... that included a lot of junior high and high school stuff. A lot of my facebook friends lived through that, too. Can I say that I hit nerves everywhere? I learned more about people that I thought I knew well, people I knew I didn't know at all, and people I thought I knew something about, but didn't actually know anything at all. It turned out to be this major cathartic experience for everyone. I had people that I didn't really know emailing me (in a good way).


Anyway, wayback week ended and my blog turned to other topics. That was a good thing because I am not sure we could have taken much more of that. More high school friends continued to pop up out of the woodwork (and still do). I use the word friends loosely. Every now and again, someone who was truly a friend does get on Facebook, but usually it is just another person that I vaguely remember, but we didn't run in the same circles. If you weren't in theatre or music, we weren't in the same crowd. Well, if you went to my junior high I might remember you. Or if you were really smart. I took a lot of enriched classes for college. So, I was your theatre, music, smart geek. If you fall into any of those categories, I might know who you are.

Anyway, I went through a really bad time after we moved back to GA. Before we figured out the "mattress situation," and even after the mattress situation, my migraines were really bad. I had forgotten what it was like to feel that bad all the time. And I wrote this blog. It wasn't one of my better days. It was a bad day. I posted it here and on facebook. I just read it again here and I see that Purple Cow was the only one who commented on it. I think I had a following of maybe 9 people then. I don't think all 9 actually read my blog. That's funny.

Anyway, over on Facebook I posted that same blog and got more comments. However, they were not what I was expecting, and are a big part of the reason that I slowly stopped posting there. I had two drama/music friends from high school hit me with very long Jesus Loves You with Scripture Comments. To be honest, it really felt like a slap in the face. Had I really been suicidal, it would have been the knock-out... the thing to push me right over the edge. Instead, it made me angry. Someone who is truly in really bad shape needs to know that YOU care. Extend the hand of friendship before you start citing scripture and talking about Jesus. I wrote a follow-up blog to that one that made me feel better, but I don't think they ever read it. *Sigh*

I have received comments on here that have included scripture and they have not bothered me at all. What is the difference? The person leaving them, of course. If you show that you care about a person and their situation, whatever it may be, and then offer up something that you think that is pertinent that might be helpful, or provide solace, it is a good thing. If that thing is scripture from your heart, I am cool with that.



You might be wondering what has made me think of this today. One of these Scripture Throwing People has been emailing me on Facebook. He is very frustrated with people because he feels that other people are not tolerant of his viewpoint, while he considers himself to be very tolerant of others. Unfortunately, I have seen firsthand how untrue this is by watching him get into word warfare with another high school friend on that person's status. It got really ugly before it was all said and done. However, I chose not to remind him of that. The thing is that all he wants to talk about is religion and politics. In other words, hot topics designed for argument. I told him that I don't talk about those things because it's not worth losing friends over those topics. I said, "Besides, you are more than politics and religion. Go find some common ground with these people if you want to be friends."

Some final thoughts to try and wrap this into some semblance of something. For fellow Facebookers: If you want to find out some interesting things about your classmates, write some blogs about what you went through in school and start tagging people you went to school with; I guarantee you will be surprised by the results. Also, do you have to use a yearbook to identify some of the people you went to school with? Damn it. I ended a sentence with with. Damn it. I did it again. You know what is worse? When the yearbook doesn't even help.


For the record, I don't consider myself a religious person. I am a spiritual person. If Jesus were to come back today and live amongst us, I don't think he would be a religious person, either. Wars are fought over religion. I think he would say he is a spiritual person. Thus, so say I. I am a spiritual person. I don't care much for people who talk one way and live another way. I am more of a walk the walk sort of person. Finally, I am not angry at my scripture tossing friends anymore. That it is just who they have turned into. I wish that they could be people who just believe, know it, and live it, so that they don't have to talk about it 24/7, but if wishes were nickels, I would be a very rich woman.


all images found at www.weheartit.com

8 comments:

  1. I don't have anyone from high school friended on Book of Faces. I have had a few of them try and add me or contact me and I have little interest. I guess I am just not a big remember when person. Those times are gone, those people we were then are gone. I might as well have stranger add me.

    Of course my connection with the Book of Faces is very loosely based anyway. I won't friend anyone I work with. I don't discuss anything personal (save that for the blog). I guess it is all about having control and being reclusive.

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  2. Hi Robin! Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving me a message today. I read this post literally an hour ago through my Google Reader and emailed it to myself so that I could come back and comment on it later. I am at work. I loved it! In fact, I really connect with what you write. I haven't connected you with the Robin that comments on Mitzi's blog either so now we're straight! Nice to meet you!

    I am sorry that I didn't comment when I started following you. This whole thing is new to me so I'm sure I missed a bunch of blogs that I should have commented on when I started. I'm better about that now! I'm glad we've put it together.

    This post really connected with me particularly about religion and spirituality. Very well said!! Candace

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  3. I thing that sometimes people confuse religion with politics. as if they are intertwined. Both sides do it. I am not sure Jesus was a religionist in his day. He wasn't much for pharisees. If I remember correctly..and they were the ones that liked to make extraneous rules. Jesus said we have all sinned. Sometimes I think people aren't so much bible thumping as bible throwing.
    That's why that whole 'take the plank out of your eye before you take the speck out of your neighbor's eye" thing is so relevant. Scripture quoting...hmmmm. I know some but more in context so I don't go around quoting the exact words...I tend more to quote the general theme...which is rarely "tell everyone how to live their life by quoting a relevant scripture."
    It's more a guide than a specific rule.
    anywhoozle.
    I have a problem with a lot of churches anymore, so it's hard to go.
    I'll stop commenting now.

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  4. I have quite a few facebook friends who I went to school with (some even from primay school - aged 4 - 8!)

    A lot of the people who follow my blog are pretty devout Christian who often include verses/reading the bible in their daily blog posts. I'm not sure whether this is an American thing because you don't often get that over here in the UK unless someone is very devout or a Born Again Christian. No one has pushed their beliefs on me, however, and as a pagan, I've not had one negative comment about mine - although I tend not to make much reference to that (apart from now!)

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  5. okay, a warning, this is going to be a long comment :)
    first of all, I think that I must read 'the outsiders'. I read that post you linked to but I'm not commenting there because, well, often I feel like my words are too pretentious for the really serious posts. And - you know, people often almost attack others, who are in trouble, with phrases that Jesus loves you and all, because, lets be honest, that's the easiest way. They say that and they can leave satisfied that they fullfilled their duty. See, I know all about Jesus-fanatics (although Catholicism in Poland is so very different from all these Christian denominations in States). They're just like that. Because it's easy. The guy I often write about - the monk guy - he works with difficult teenagers, with kids addicted to drugs. And his way of helping them is telling them that Jesus loves them. So I once asked - but what else do you do? He said - nothing, that's enough. Well, that's never enough. And I'm sorry if I sound sacreligious here. But if someone writes something really dark, that they have suicidal thoughts, and all you can say is: Jesus loves you - isn't this a bit as if you (not YOU) were assuming that this person is an idiot? Like, without telling them that 'jesus loves you' this person wouldn't know that? Oh, I could go on about religion forever...

    A whole different thing is - a yearbook. I am SO happy that there's never been such a thing in Polish schools. All these photos with these captions...I would've killed myself most probably. Or just drop out of the school very early :)

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  6. Not into facebook. I don't have the time. I'm probably one of your scripture throwing friends and that's okay...you know my heart. I definitely try to walk it out. I know what I believe and why I believe it and that's more than most:)

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  7. I'm totally not trying to be sarcastic, (honestly, I'm not!!!) but for some reason, as soon as I read through this post, I thought of a Scripture. NO seriously, I did!!

    It's basically something about if someone sees another person in need and just says "bless you" but doesn't actually do anything to help them then their faith is useless. Okay, that is a totally lame paraphrase but I can't remember the exact wording.

    My point is that if people natter on and on with words and have no kindness, no thoughtfulness, no concern for what the needs are of the people around them, then their words are absolutely meaningless. And I think that's true regardless of what religion a person belongs to, or if they don't belong to any religion at all. I think some people just like to hear the sound of their own voice, or maybe to see their own rantings typed out on a screen. They don't seem to care how it is going to make other people feel, or if it is actually of any benefit whatsoever to anyone else.

    Kindness is a language that transcends cultures and religion. If a person acts in kindness, the actions speak way louder than any words that can be spoken/written.

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  8. Ro, that was really a lovely way of saying exactly what I meant!

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