PAY IT FORWARD !!!

The blogging world has been both fascinating and overwhelming to me.  I hesitated starting a blog for years.  I had difficulty overcoming the thought that it was self-centered to assume that people would want to read what I have to say. And especially the language barrier, hindered me in expressing my thoughts. But thanks to the invention of apps that are interactive, I’m now a member of Words with Friends and one other interactive game. The first one is fun, allowing me to use my  word vocabulary to impress my friends with words along the lines of ‘some’ and ‘other’. Let me point out, I have never won with big scores though.

I am so grateful that I finally overcame my fears and entered into this arena – and a huge thank you to the friends... It has already been a wild ride. I had received comments to many of my blog from my family & friends.The comments, though not on the post itself, but by emails, text, verbally, in person, etc. truly touched me to my core..

As I read all of the comments, though, I was extremely touched by them.  The act of commenting alone, is a kindness (someone is taking time out of their busy lives to show interest in what I said); but it is also the nature of the comments.

People offer interest, sympathy,  concern,  support, encouragement and love.   And these people are not only my immediate family and core group of friends – they are my extended family, with whom I have reconnected in significant ways; they are acquaintances, with whom I have forged tighter and closer friendships; they are total strangers, with whom I want to become friends and, really, consider friends already.

It is easy to get bogged down in the depressing aspects of our world right now.  That so many people are willing to take the time to offer encouragement and support is a huge reminder to me about the basic goodness of human nature.  And also how incredibly important it is for us to reach out to one another.

It has caused me to reassess my views. I have been reading various blogs and facebook posts for years but rarely commented.

Why?

When I was in my busy and stressed out phase of my life, I think it was a time issue.  I see the absurdity of that now.  How much time does it really take to reach out and pat someone else on the back (actually or virtually)?

I also struggled with feeling as if I was an intruder.  There is a sense of voyeurism when reading people’s posts and, by commenting, you are admitting to being a voyeur (or so I thought at the time).  I realize now how wrong that is.

I am reminded of the movie ”PAY IT FORWARD” which was remade as "STALIN" in Telugu and "JAI HO" in Hindi, in which a favor for someone to be paid forward by doing a favor for three persons, rather than returning the favor to the same person.  It was a bit of an odd movie, but the concept of paying it forward is a strong one.

So please consider this my way of paying it forward in the social media arena, motivating the budding bloggers like me...

For those of you considering a blog, go ahead and try it.  It has been one of the more rewarding experiences of my life.  I feel as if I am finding my voice and living a life more authentic to me.

For those of you who read blogs, please consider commenting on posts that you enjoy.  Understand that by commenting and showing interest in a post, you are showing kindness to the author.  Now when I read blogs and posts, I make the effort to comment on ones that I find interesting.  And when I do comment, I feel very positive about it.

And then on a more personal level, for those of you who have commented on my posts or offered me encouragement on my blog, I give to you a huge and heartfelt thank you.