Put marbles in a can and shake them. Or BB’s. Or bees.
That’s us. Over any issue, we crawl into our cans, and we let the issue shake us, and we make noise. Noise like marbles, BB’s, or bees.
All the social media outlets feel…shaken.
We are shaken. All my friends, on all the sides of all the issues, are shaken. Unless they just don’t have the bandwidth to hang in there with it all. Those people are either offline, posting about life as usual, or their posts sound like another substance that’s been shaken, and that might be something like buttermilk. Sour.
Tone policing, teeth clenched–or, riding above it all and meme-ing in condescension. Yeah, you are shaken too, and I can see you, and you are like that guy at the dog park that walks around the edge of the park, and doesn’t talk to anyone, and when your dogs start kicking other dogs’ asses, you just start yelling for them to knock it off, as if it hasn’t happened every time you go to the dog park.
Everyone has their right to engage, participate, and problem solve. Or abstain.
Here are some alternatives–to marbles, BB’s, bees, or soured milk products on their way to butter:
gummy bears; sweet, and soft, but strong
gumballs; kind of noisy, but so sweet
lilac blossoms or any herb at all, but especially rosemary; they smell nice, even if a bit strong
cotton balls–absorbent, which is kind of like someone who listens (this is a not so discrete suggestion that listening helps sometimes)
beans, seeds, or pebbles; they just keep working together to make this sound that can lull most people into a place of deep calm
What else?
What do you desire to produce when you’re shaken?
How can your distress lead to something beneficial–for you AND for others?
What do you want people to hear?
What do you want them to feel?
We CAN choose. Most of the time. With practice, we can get there even more of the time.
What are you practicing in the wake of these times?
