Fill in the blank..

Green with ____.  Most people have no trouble finishing this sentence.

"Envy is the art of counting the other fellow's blessings instead of your own." Harold Coffin

I think we can agree that everyone has felt envy at one time or another. It's not pretty. Or healthy.  In this world of social media I think envy may be more prevalent than ever. We see SO MANY details of other people's lives. Mostly the great stuff that is happening for them.

It all seems to begin with comparison. So there I was, happily tra-la-laing along with my gizmo. Then I checked in on Facebook and saw that someone else has the newer, bigger, better, more expensive  model. I looked down at my gizmo and was not quite as satisfied.  The gizmo I loved just a few moments ago had suddenly fallen short.. So and So has the new model, and it's beautiful. Suddenly, out of nowhere, up pops that niggly, painful feeling..I want what THEY have! And just like that,  envy is born, with maybe a teeny tiny bit of resent thrown in. Ugly emotions both!

Comparison is a dead end street. There is no way we can be happy for others or content with our place in this world if we are always comparing.  Someone will ALWAYS have MORE than us. More money, be more beautiful, more fit, travel more..

To nip envy in the bud I need to be proactive. Figuring out the "triggers" that set off this negative feeling is top priority, then I can avoid getting into those situations. For example, we don't have to follow every single one of our "friends" on Facebook.

I have found that keeping a sufficiency journal where I list my blessings, and practicing the ole daily "attitude of gratitude" is what works best for me.

That..and staying off Facebook, lol!  ;)


Journal Journey Day 7

My fade into Facebook

Journal Day 2

For some time now I've chosen to ignore the fact that Facebook has a tendency to undermine my sense of well-being. Still, I seem drawn to it like a moth to flame. Last night I once again admitted that FB, and to some extent the whole of the Internet does little to enhance my life. The negatives always seem to outweigh the positives. 

While I love keeping up with family and friends through Facebook, the net (how apropos) is thrown wide and I am pulled into what has become for me, a time sucking black hole. 

I will think I am hopping online "real quick like" to check my email and FB, but what inevitably happens is I click on something interesting. Then I click on something else "interesting". Then I click, click, click, click... By the time I come up for air, my coffee has gone cold and 45 minutes will  have passed without me, 45 minutes I won't get back. I've decided I want to be more present in ALL my minutes, so.. 

Day 2 of my journaling journey is also a bit of a "goodbye for now" to my Facebook friends. I will miss you all terribly, but I am in need of a break. I'd like to see something outside this little box I've been staring into. To live a bit more of a natural existence out here in the fray.  

I will probably keep tossing the odd journal entry up onto my blog, and I if you need me, I think my private messenger will keep working since it is supposedly separate from Facebook now, so please feel free to contact me there. 

I wish you blessings my friends, I will be thinking of you! 

Facebook Floozy

Last month I was fine, happy, innocent if you will. Practically an internet newlywed. I didn't mean for it to happen...but goofing around on the web when I should have been busy doing something productive (like arranging my Tupperware according to color and size), I met someone online. Actually, I met 75 someones...I discovered Facebook.

I didn't mean to fall in love, I couldn't help it. They make me laugh, encourage me when I'm down, remember my birthday. We've just become so close, my 105 friends and I. There is no way I could give them up, don't ask me to. I'm hooked, practically addicted. I went from innocent to Facebook party girl in two short weeks. These days I'm forever wondering when and where I'm going to get my next Facebook hit. I think about it even when I'm nowhere near a computer. Usually I can't wait to get home to check and see if anyone new has "friended" me. Last time my friend Tori visited from Chicago we sat our laptops side by side at the counter, me checking my Facebook, she writing her blog.

I bet this is how any addict feels. The anticipation, the thrill, the score, the satisfaction and then of course the remorse and guilt when realizing how much of myself I've wrapped up in this endeavor. I'll sit down in the morning to just take a quick peek at the new posts before starting my chores and when I next look up from the computer three hours have passed..

Check this out. F.A.D. There really is a Facebook Addiction Disorder, I KNEW IT! Great, another acronym to add to my collection: A.D.D, P.M.S, and now F.A.D. I hope there's a 12 step program for this or I'm going to end up in marriage counseling as the dishes and dirty clothes pile up around me. So...

Hello, my name is Pam and I have F.A.D...