Facebook Should Change its Name to "MemeBook."

I've shared my opinion of Facebook before.  It's no secret that I find most of the so-called interaction there more than just a little shallow.  Now before you get upset, notice I said MOST.  I understand not everyone is a meme junky, and I do know some people who actually do post thoughts, beliefs, experiences, and even what's happening in their lives.  As for me, I honestly grow very bored of the constant stream of memes and re-shared videos and wish people would choose to be REAL there, rather than reactive.

I love animals--absolutely have a soft heart for them.  So when people share funny and cute animal pics and vids I'm all for it.  I also love it when my favorite rescue groups share info.  I don't mind the occasional recipe or news article.  It's not like I want Facebook to just be another Twitter.  But the reason I prefer Twitter to FB is because people actually talk to one another, share a lot more than just making announcements about nothing in particular.

Another thing that can sometimes be annoying is when people post a sea of memes and videos, then out of the blue go on a complete tirade about someone else, or even about themselves.  And hey, I have NO problem with people who go off about something when most of their posts are literally bits and pieces of their lives, their dreams, goals, rants, etc.  But when someone is a 'Memer' and suddenly blasts another person for sharing something real, or blasts another for just being real, I have a huge problem with that.  And once someone does this---it's on!

Look, I love memes... they're fun, and they can get a message across with a flare.  I LOVE memes, especially the funny and sarcastic/rude ones. ;p  But memes aren't my form of communication.  I actually have a mind and voice.  To me, if one is using only memes to communicate what they think, feel, believe, etc... it mostly just comes across like they're fluent in Ransom Note.  Seriously.  My choice is to avoid that if I can... to not communicate in that way.

To each his/her own.  It's okay if you like memes.  It's not my place to tell anyone what to do or not do.  I'm simply making a point about Facebook, because I've grown disenchanted with the site and what it inspires most people to do.  Well, bored is another word I could use to describe how I feel about FB these days.

If you like memes--meme away!  I like them, too, a lot.  But I try to keep in-check how much I rely on memes to actually communicate.  It just seems like common sense to me.

Now, one thing I would suggest is to research what memes are and where the word 'meme' comes from!  I've done this and found the results... very very interesting.  Oh, and memes just aren't little pictures with words on them.  I don't want to give anything away, so if you have time... look up the history and uses of memes.. and learn when they're NOT a good thing. ;)

The Cocoon of SAFE, Mindless Prattle

I'm irritated at the moment.  I'm irritated because I'm not handling things very well right now.  I get that the message I'm given is that it's very difficult to handle stress when you're on prednisone, that the body's usual defense mechanisms simply aren't in place anymore.  I hear what I'm told, I get what I'm told, but I DON'T LIKE WHAT I'M TOLD.  Yeah, yeah.. go cry me a river, right? ;p

Okay, so I wonder how much I'm going to be pushed by my own body in order to see just how much I can take and maintain my sanity?  When will the insurance company FINALLY approve the medication I need to take care of a serious situation that is wreaking havoc on my body and my life?  It's been over a month now.  OVER a month, and I still can't get the medication approved.  This country, because of Obama, has gone right to hell.  It really has.  And this is only ONE of the ways it's gone downhill.

At any rate, I seem to swing between being completely angry one moment about this, to feeling utterly abandoned in the next.  I don't know HOW to feel about anything anymore, and as long as I have to deal with the symptoms I'm not going to be the most rational or patient of people; it's been going on for too long and I'm flipping tired.

Making demands on me--this is really what I'm getting at.  I need to heal, and while the AIH is being addressed it's simply not enough.  You can't just ignore some things, and this thing I'm dealing with is something that will not allow me the luxury of pretending it's not there, happening, and ruining my life at the moment.  And no, I'm not being melodramatic here.  It's the truth.

Now, I will admit one of the biggest mistakes I've been making is spending WAY too much time on social media.  My bright idea was to avoid watching too much tv, and in doing that I've replaced tv with reading political articles, reading and getting caught up in tweets on Twitter, watching the disconnected posts flow through my FB feed.  I can admit that's a dumb thing for me to do.  And what can I do instead?...

Well, I know what I should do, so it's not a matter of ignorance but rather bad choices.  I'm aware.  Instead of getting caught up in all the political hot-headedness or trying to amuse myself with funny pictures and such... and we all know this is the bulk of FB posts these days... I should be turning my focus on what I normally do, and that is to seek information on how to make the best of what I'm dealing with, finding new ways to see my situation, and read more about what others do in the same.  While I have sought information and such, I guess I've found it's not helped me as much as I'd hoped. Maybe that's why I'm distracting myself with all of the other crap.

I need to take about 20 paces back from FB, from Twitter, and from reading all the political crap out there.  Yes, I want to be informed as these elections coming are VERY important, but there's so much hate and nastiness in what people say these days that I find it hard to read and maintain a good, happy, frame of mind.  So that's one thing that I need to change.

Another thing is to avoid people on FB who seem to make it their life's mission to comment with negative crap on my posts.  I mean, damn... grow up.  If you don't like my point of view, disagree with me, etc... then just move along to the next post in the feed and ignore mine!  It's not THAT hard to do, is it?  And I know one person in particular is doing it.. because he can.  He doesn't try it in person, which I find rather amusing, but he gets down right offensive and rude when he's hiding behind his computer.  I normally just shrug it off and roll my eyes when he does this, but lately he's taken to insulting some of my friends in the military, including veterans, and that's where I draw the line.  At any rate, this is the sort of thing that happens when you post anything of actual substance on social media.  Here's a fact: People aren't really interested in what you think, feel, or believe.  What people are actually interested in is cocooning themselves in SAFE, mindless prattle that means nothing.

And yes, this is relatively isolated to one particular person, so that makes things easy for me in terms of what to block him from.  Honestly, I'm not sure that FB allows that anymore, blocking certain people from particular posts.  Either way, enough of the BS on FB.  If I find a way to block him from my posts.. it's done.. ACCESS DENIED!

Now that I got THAT off my chest...

It Begins the Same Every Day

....And it ends pretty much the same way.  Predictability to this degree is less than optimal for a full life.  Maybe that sounds a bit over-the-top, but it's the truth just the same.  And let's be clear here, I'm not speaking of the predictability that's needed in most important circumstances, but the kind that you recognize and expect because of history.  If you have a predictable outcome, what's the incentive to do anything any differently?

My attempts to affect change have fallen short of anything I would ever dare call success.  When problems or difficulty arises and the outcome is always the same, redirecting my approach to the issue just makes perfect sense.  Let's try something different; this is what I tell myself, and it's what I do, and somehow it still seems to make little to no difference whatsoever.  So then, what's the solution?

Maybe it's time I implement a little indifference myself, invoke the goddess ignora as it were and use my resources, whatever they may be at the time, to implement the change I want in my life.  Yeah, sure.. I know that sounds like the better place to have started, but there's this little thing called 'communication' that always seems to get in the way.

Will it FEEL different if I do something new?

Has it to-date, you know, FELT different?  No.  Not really.  And why would it matter what something FEELS like?  Because FEELING is everything.  FEELING is what stops us, encourages us, demands, suggests, and invokes an action or reaction to any inner or outside stimulus.  Get your mind out of the gutter. ;)  In all seriousness, unless you're a complete sociopath who feels nothing at all, this should make sense.

Okay, so what is it I FEEL then?  Anxiety.  Mild anger.  Disappointment.  Bewilderment, and... wait.  Is this what I'm really referring to when I say FEELING?  Maybe not, because that list is really more the EFFECTS of those feelings than the actual feelings themselves.  Well damn... that just got complicated, didn't it?

So what I'm basically dealing with here is changing MY behavior and the way I look at things so as not to have to constantly fight for what's right, or to be heard, or to even be respected.  Respect will still be a HUGE deal for me, of course, because that's part of what and who I am.  But I'm not going to allow disrespect to alter how I FEEL---as just one example.

I realized last night that I'm still in that place where I allow my health and my body to be torn down by the treatment of another towards me.  I can't keep doing that if I want to heal, to be healthy.  I just cannot allow that to continue.

The next step is... to break free of those chains that bind me, the ones I was shackled with as a child, carried into adulthood, and allowed to be manipulated by someone I'm with.

....I've got the 'what,' and now I need the 'how.'  That's at least something.