A Tranquility Bird in my Brew
I woke up this morning on my first month twittering anniversary to find 200 plus folks in my teensy followers box on my twitter account. http://twitter.com/paradisekitten Wowser. I feel so lucky to be followed by and follow such interesting and informative folks. I have to admit that I started my account on a lark, being of the opinion that social networking sites were probably self-involved twaddle. Now, a month down the twitersphere universe, I have changed my tune.
I’ve bopped around the net and read some critics of twitter. “What are you doing?”, BIG YAWN, right? Who, la de da, cares right? Well it’s not quite as simple as that.
There is an old swing song that goes, “It’s not what you do, it’s the way that you do it, That’s what gets results.” Sure there are a lot of less than thrilling folks on twitter but that’s life; the great news is that is not like they are seated next to you all the way to Chicago. It’s possible to choose your travel-mates. I personally find an occasional food item or personal epiphany-tweet fun but if hearing about breakfasts or the cute little golden hairs folks have found on their toes is not your cup of tea you can just change seats.
Social Networking curmudgeons rant on about how twitter is not “real life”. Well, I agree that clicking on a tiny-URL ROSE, TwitPic - Share photos on twitter is not the same thing as going outside and sticking your head in a bush. In fact -- in some ways it’s better. Outside it’s grey and wet. My bushes have no roses and if I stick my head in one I will (1 get soaked, and (2 come out looking like I got caught in a kitty cuisinart. Twitter is not a replacement for real life but sometimes -- less is more.
Another thing I have noticed during my fledgling tweet flights is that the brevity of the venue condenses the personalities of people like heat reduces a sauce on the stove. Their joys, foibles, rants, loves, and woes are boiled down to an essence. Interested, curious, helpful, intelligent, loving, joyful, ruminating, investigating, creative and fun - those are the people I hang with. Ranters abound everywhere, but a twitter advantage is that while, with a page to rant you can be an expert or philosopher, in 140 characters it comes off as a big baby twissy fit. On the other hand, goodness and joy reduces down to light -- small but still very bright and illuminating.
All in all, I’m happy I joined and will continue to frolic word-wise in my twitter box. I’ll leave you with one of my favorite Marcilo Ficino Ficino Quotes:
What Is Necessary For Composure In Life And For Tranquility Of The Soul
(last three paragraphs)
“O my Friends, live your lives happily, Far from narrowness, Live happy. It was the happiness of heaven that created you; and with a kind of laughter, that is with a dilating, a movement, a splendor, it declared you, as if it were rollicking. The happiness of heaven will protect you. So live everyday happy in the present. For worry in the present steals the present away from you and steals the future too. Curiosity about the future quickly turns it into the past. Therefore, I implore you, again and again, live Happy!
The fates allow it, as long as you live without care. But, to live without care, do not allow one single care. Never worry about anything! Be extremely diligent in escaping from cares! For all it takes is one care for the heart of miserable mortals to burn with all cares. Neglect, therefore your diligence, and love, in fact, your negligence, and even in this it is fitting to be negligent, I mean to the extent it is allowed us.
I am telling you all this, my friends, not as a priest, but as a doctor. For without this one thing -- the life of all medicines, as it were, -- all medicines used for the benefit of life would die."
16 September 1489 in the field at Careggi
© Robin Wendell 2009
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