Well, I have spent much of the day working on my Patreon page. On the one hand it is not hard, putting together the information, doing the writing of the page, the graphics, this takes thought, it takes time, but then comes the technology behind it all and my eyes roll back in my head and my brain starts falling out of my ears! I have created a number of websites and blogs and each time there was a learning curve and I just kept at it and learned what I needed to learn. Now, I will tell you that I am self-taught and nothing horrifies me more than someone wanting me to help them because more often than not I can do the thing but I couldn’t explain how to save my soul! And right now, in working with the platforms that can make this community really exciting with livestreams, videos, community forum, etc, the new technology is WAY OVER MY HEAD.
The thing is, and this is true for me, most of us are in such a RUSH, we want it all right now, ready and easy to use. We like all the bells and whistles but learning how to install and use them is a whole different matter. I am chocking this up not only as a learning experience but also to a leap in neuroplasticity. It is good for my aging brain to learn new things. It keeps my brain active and alive and growing. And my brain has become something very important to me in ways I never thought of. The things that are possible are mind-bending. The ketogenic diet’s effects on my brain helped me go off psych meds I had been on for decades. And though some ketogenic people tell you not to have bulletproof coffee (with coconut oil and butter) because if you “drink your fats” your body will burn the dietary fat before it burns your body fat and you will lose weight slower. I have tried having it and not having it and it doesn’t seem to effect my weight loss, but more importantly I am dedicated to coconut oil because of it’s amazing effects for the brain. I will continue to have it every morning. Taking care of my brain is one of my top priorities and even if my weight loss is slower I’ll stick with the coconut oil to keep my brain lively. It has turned Alzheimers around and none of us want to go there. (Also see Dr. Newport’s amazing TedTalk if you are interested in this subject.) One of my most important jobs these days is to nurture a happy brain.
Anyway I have to establish a way to work on all of this without going, well, one hates to say “going crazy” given my history, but when you were not raised in the era of computers it is harder than it is for all the young whipper-snappers! A good way into it all and I wasn’t sure I should even try to do this, I need a techno fairy to help me! But I don’t have the funds to pay for one so I will keep trudging forward. Once more into the breech, don’t you know? I want to think of what I will say in the morning videos, for example, but first I have to figure out how to do the videos and get them up and out to patrons, once I’ve got that down the content should be easy.
When I push too hard my brain goes to the bad place, you know, the place that asks who you think you are to be doing this anyway? And it tells you that no one will be interested, and what’s the use? But when we have decades of experience in the things we love and want to help others with, if we believe in ourselves (There’s the hard part!) we must just keep doing the work. Marching on. And when we can’t that’s when it’s time to do something else. Doodle, draw, color, put on music that you love and sing and dance with it, call a friend, read a book, BUT GET AWAY FROM THE COMPUTER! I myself find that taking a nap with the pugs, at the very least kissing them on the nose, helps tremendously. Wash dishes, cook something, tell a friend that you REALLY need her to tell you that you are wonderful, that you do good work in the world, that it matters, and that you will be successful with it! (This likely will not have even been on her mind but it helps a lot if she will SAY it to you!) I believe in this. I believe in what I’m doing, and I guess in the end that’s what matters most.
I am weaving my dream. I am growing it just like you grow a garden. I am choosing the seeds I will plant — one might imagine seed catalogs everywhere here just now! — and soon I will begin planting the seeds, I will watch them grow over time, I will gather armfuls of flowers and hand them to women everywhere all around the globe. This is right, it matters, and if my brain falls out my ears every single day I will just shove them back in and carry on.
Don’t give up on your dreams because implementing them is difficult. Take it one day at a time, do what you can, eat coconut oil, and carry on!
These flowers are from me to you…
The Experiment ~A 365 Day Search For Truth, Beauty &
Happiness: Day 1 ~ Introduction To The Project
“Do or do not. There is no try.”
Yoda
Thank you for the beautiful tulips! I will soon start buying fresh ones from the grocery store to cheer up my winter days.
I hear you about the computer learning curve and completely agree about taking a break when it gets too frustrating. So much patience is required for these things, but you can do it!
Thank you so much Joan! I am here right now because I have been working on installing Discourse, the threaded forum that will be the central part of the community, and a whole new wild live feature called Discord where it is all manner of live features. I am working with the technical support people for BOTH features, my brain cells are running out of my ears at an alarming rate, and I just stopped to eat lunch and be elsewhere for awhile. You know the more I get into it the more excited I get because I remember the early days of Dragonfly Cottage Community For Women and struggling to set up the website and all the rest and then it grew SO FAST once it was up I was astounded. So many wonderful things happened between the women in those years and lifelong friendships were established. This is so worth it but woowee the technology is SO much more complicated than it was then! But once more into the breech I go! I believe in this with all my heart and the harder I work at it the more excited I get because the more I can see possibilities for women worldwide to be part of a community where they feel gentle love and support and kindness on so many levels when it can be so hard to find it anywhere today. So many people rely on FB but it gets more dangerous, more spamming, outright threats, less engagement and you know all the rest. My communities are always safe and sacred space, very gentle, based on compassion and loving kindness, it will NOT be a place for angry debates, for political or religious debates or arguments. This is about women’s hearts, friendships, animal companions, cooking, gardening, writing, journalling and the arts, peace, love, and kindness. It is a place for a woman to rest and be supported. And my whole heart is in this. Well, now I have GONE ON! It’s just so nice to write here and NOT being dealing with coding and plug-ins, and all the rest! I hope you will be able to join us, I would love to have you there… 🙂
you are awesome, maitri-girl. what you are challenging yourself with is so way over my head it’s not even visible in the clouds. bless you! maybe your fabulous brain as it grows will somehow rub off on mine, hmmm??? thanks for the flowers, one can never have enough, and believe me, our camellias are going crazy, they are in vases all over my house!!!
a good new friend just flew back to oregon, and we had the best time for 3 and a half days, writing together and she is also a watercolor artist. she picked up some “snail shells” from one of my shell baskets and did an amazing painting, then i wrote a haiku, and she calligraphed it onto the painting. i will text it to you. wonderbar!!!
its amazing we didn’t blow a fuse. no we just lit up, lit up, lit up. maybe my brain got new pathways from it. i hope so!
xo
ka
Hello Darling Ka… I have just stuck my head in here to answer lovely commenters and start work on today’s blogpost. I have been working for hours on the two main technical features I will be using on Patreon, I am in the thick of things with both of them and working with technical support to get them up. It may be days before they are up and running and Lordy my eyeballs and brains are hanging out of my head but do you know what? It is exciting! It is thrilling! As I wrote to Joan above — and I won’t repeat it all here but I may be writing about all of this in today’s blogpost — it is taking me back to the beginning of my Dragonfly Cottage Community For Women. It was a big learning curve then to get it all up and running but that was NOTHING compared to the technology today. That community grew so fast it made my head spin and I believe this one will too once it gets going. Each day I get further and have more affirmations that this is right. This is what I was born to do, so onwards and upwards I go!
And what a delight for you to spend time with your lovely friend, and the work you two produced together is so beautiful and moving, thank you so much for texting it to me, I loved seeing it! I hope you have a beautiful day honey, and what a lovely image to hold in mind, those camellias everywhere. Enjoy them. And I have daffodils starting to bloom! In the middle of winter signs of spring appear, now there’s a haiku in there somewhere! 🙂
Love,
M. xoxox