"Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?" -Mary Oliver
Something in me wanted sunshine, so I opened my front door
and stepped onto the porch. No shoes on my feet, I could feel each pebble in
the cement under my feet. I took a seat on the top step, I turned my face
upward, closed my eyes, and breathed.
Sometimes I forget what it’s like to touch and feel, to
experience anything beside what happens within the walls of a house or an
office. After more than 40 hours behind a computer each week for seven years, I
barely know life on the outside. How does one adjust? I find myself still
running to my computer for several reasons—familiarity, connection,
creativity—even when I don’t need to be working.
Just prior to finishing fulltime work last December, I made
a list of things I wanted to do with my freedom from the five-day work week.
At the top of the list, I wrote “Pinterest.”
I hadn’t spent much time on Pinterest. Occasionally a link
took me there, and I could see boards and pins. The site looked pretty. Pretty
like an extended Martha Stewart Living magazine.
When my job ended, I opened the site several times to create
an account. With all the recipes and DIY projects I noticed, I began to wonder if it’s for me. I already steer clear of DIY articles online because I know
there is about a one percent chance I will actually DIM (Do It Myself).
I left Pinterest alone for a few months, and then decided to
spend an evening exploring the boards created by some of my closest friends to
see if I could make a decision on launching my own.
It was kind of fun. And pretty. Let’s not forget pretty.
The more I explored the pins that night, the more I realized
I already have a Pinterest. It’s in my basement, above my work area:
Yesterday, Her.meneutics hosted a conversation on the topic of Pinterest. One of the thoughts mentioned is the idea that Pinterest can lead
us into creating the life we wish we had, rather than living the life in front
of us.
When I realized I already had pins of my own, I considered
how personal all the items are on my boards. Pictures of me with family members
and items I painted with my own hands. I love the quotes and drawings because
they were made by people who speak into my life regularly and know me in a way
that no one online could.
I had to touch each item, feel it, pin it up there myself.
Nothing virtual about it. Me and a plastic push-pin and some cork.
I have nothing against Pinterest. I may even create boards
sometime in the future.
But right now, I want to learn how to live into my own life.
The one right in front of me. The one where I feel the sun shining down on
my face, where I’m brushing sand off my leg as I teach Kyla to play volleyball in
the sandpit. The life where I’m cleaning up playdough messes after Kae makes me
another birthday cake because she asks almost every day if tomorrow is my birthday.
I want to touch and see pieces of me, without a screen. Truly lovely. Truly pretty.
Some further thoughts on Pinterest I found interesting:
"Why Women Are Obsessed with Pinterest" by Laura Leonard
"In Which I Wonder about Pinterest" by Sarah Bessey
13 Signs You Spend Too Much Time on Pinterest (This one's kind of funny.)
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