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Advice: Wanted or Unwanted?

In one of the well-known baseball strips, Charlie Brown says, "The world is filled with people who are anxious to function in an advisory capacity."

I'm feeling the burden of that right now. Social media gives all of us the opportunity to function in an advisory capacity--instantly. There are friends who legitimately seek out your opinion, and then there are retailers and news outlets who ask you how you feel because your participation is money in the bank for them.

Some days it is far too simple. People doling out opinions you disagree with are therefore tiring and unnecessary. Others who articulate beautifully what you yourself think are helpful and refreshing. Discussions where both parties truly listen before responding seem nonexistent.

Yet this morning I asked my friends on Facebook to help me figure out the dynamics of school closure announcements and the result was wonderful. We didn't all share the same point of view. But everyone was respectful, and I was really able to learn something. The experience lifted my spirits.

I'm going to spend most of my very cold day at home working on projects around the house, including making some progress on a rag rug I have been working on for months. When it is finished it will be colorful, a bit asymmetrical, slightly lumpy, and beautiful. I probably won't post any pictures of it because I don't want to subject it (or myself) to helpful advice or even constructive criticism.

Sometimes you just want to keep things to yourself. I think today is a good day to hunker down and do just that.

 

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