19/12/2019
I am trying to reconcile my need for being with people in community and connecting with potential collaborators on social media. It's so important for me to put the phone down and get out into the world. It allows me to see more clearly and develop my perspective rather than chasing something I can't quite grasp. Allowing myself to be present when my phone is within reach is a challenge.
I am at the early stage in my Squarespace website design business. Talking to people in real life feels more immediate and it's easier to see actual progress. Reframing social media as complimentary to the in person connections I have built over the years is helping me shape my understanding of how to grow a business. In the past, I saw social media either as supplementary (like it could replace being in the world and part of a physical community) or even as a distraction (like word of mouth and personal connections were the only thing that worked) and both hurt my past businesses. The more moderate, authentic and thoughtful approach I am working towards feels more in line with my ideals of community and what I want to put out into the world.
When I visited the Monet exhibit at DAM, about a quarter of the way through, I stopped listening to the audio recordings and just looked at the paintings. While the amount of people in the gallery made this a challenge in itself, tuning out that extra layer allowed me to be more fully there. I was able to enjoy the beauty of Monet's work a bit more fully and to interact and just BE WITH my wife instead of pressing the plastic headset to my ear and looking for the next audio chapter above the paintings. And, when I found a section of the exhibit to be especially interesting I could pick the headset back up and take a deeper dive into the history of it.
