I'm a Slacker

Who ever is out of patience is out of possession of their soul.
- Francis Bacon

Thank you for the messages of support. They are wonderfully kind and dear to me.

I want to re-emphasize that the problem is not one of unhappy customers. Unhappy customers are part of business.

It is not a matter of self-image. I may have experienced a very dark day of the soul, but it was largely due to a chemical imbalance and a pharmacy mistake, rather than crippling self doubt.

And the problem is not a crisis of confidence in my design capabilities. In fact, it is not connected with knitting in any way.

And that was sort of my point. Not everything is public. Not everything is on the surface. Not everything is spilled out on line.

It is easy to make "friends" these days. We can push a button and send a request. We can just as easily push another button and withdraw that friendship.

We forget how long it takes to truly know someone; to become the best of friends.

We think we know people because we have read their blog, or purchased their yarn, or chatted them up on Facebook or Ravelry.

But we don't. Not really.

I am not saying you cannot have an online relationship. I have met many wonderful people on line and some of them are you.

But I am often surprised when I finally see a picture or meet someone in person whom I have known on line. They are taller, shorter, fatter, thinner, younger, older, louder, quieter, funnier, shyer, etc. etc. etc...

than I had pictured them in my imagination.

It is much like the casting process for a movie based upon a beloved book. We think, "OH NO! That person is totally wrong for the part."

We do not know the entirety of their existence. We do not know their hopes & dreams & fears. We do not know their families.

We do not know what is going on in people's private lives. Only their public ones.

And since that is the case, we need to cultivate patience. We need to plant it in our souls, water it with the milk of human kindness, and allow it to blossom in our collective communities.

We need to cut ourselves and each other a little slack.

Let's assume the other person is NOT an asshole.

Let's consider what we know versus what we are presuming, before we touch the keys of the laptop.

Let's try to work things out, before filing a complaint.

Let's really listen with our hearts to try and catch the subtext of what people are really feeling.

Let's give each other the benefit of the doubt.

Let's try to help one another.

Let's be slow to anger and fast to care.

Let's replace the culture of "me first" with the reality that we are all in this together.

Let's yield to and merge with oncoming human traffic, instead of pushing our way to the front of the line.

Let's slow down and step back and take a deep breath.

Let's reclaim civility and graciousness for our times.

Let's stop being mad as hell and not willing to take any more.

Lets put up our pitchforks and beat them into plowshares.

Let's create rather than destroy.

Let's be the blessed peacemakers, the other cheek turners, the good Samaritans.

Let's cut the car in front of us, the person alongside us, the child who follows us, some slack.

Let's be kind to one another.

Because we are all we've got.

Let's be slackers.


I have a new button on my sidebar. If this message resonates with you, you are welcome to snag it for your own.

Thanks for listening and God bless.

I'm a slacker.

How about you?