Thank You for Asking, Facebook!

"What's on your mind?"

When I first joined the biggest time-sucker of all time Facebook and saw that question, I wasn't quite sure how to respond.

I'm a very literal person, and I am (contrary to a few, albeit infamous spectacular incidents) an instruction follower. If, for example, my boss sends me a memo that instructs me to fill out and return a form within 10 days, I have it filled out, an electronic copy saved, and the original sent to him within the hour.

So when I joined the land of imaginary friends Facebook and was asked what was on my mind, I sat and thought about it for a bit. What should I say? How much should I share? Was it a rhetorical question? Did anybody really want to know? Or was it just a clever ploy to gather information about me that could be used later for nefarious purposes? Nah, nobody is that diabolical, are they?

I don't remember my first Facebook post verbatim, but it took me longer to write than my Masters thesis project. I wrote, deleted, wrote, changed a word here and another there, and deleted it all. I strove for witty, intelligent, nonchalant, and in-the-know . . . and lots of other traits that most often elude me.

Silly me, I asked my husband to read my final draft. He told me it was "fine". Well, I knew full well what that meant. I started over. Finally, my first post was ready for publication; it went something like this:

     What's on my mind is that my kids are going to have a fit when they see I'm on Facebook. 

Yes, I have an undergraduate degree in English and a Masters in Composition, and that's what I came up with!

Nine years later, I rarely even notice the "What's on your mind?" in the little box where I type a post. Today, though, it once again caused me to pause.

What is on my mind?

Why, thank you for asking, Facebook!

I'd like to say that my brain is filled with lofty ideas, plans for philanthropy, and nuggets of wisdom to share with the masses 15 people who faithfully read "like" my posts without fail (thank you!).  In truth, my thoughts usually run more like this:

Am I out of popcorn? Drat, the shrub beds need to be weeded. I bet Vienna is beautiful this time of year. I need to do laundry today. Oh my, look at that beautiful bird at the feeder! I really need to get off this couch and walk -- 10,000 steps today, no matter what. Chocolate ice-cream sounds so good right now. Maybe I'll walk to the store and buy more underwear undergarments lingerie clothes so I don't have to do laundry. Lots of steps + no laundry = win, win. I'm so clever! Do the Cardinals play tonight? 

Of course, I could never post all that. I collect my thoughts and ask myself, what really is "on my mind". And truth be told, the answer is "not much".

After a lifetime of being sure everything depended on me and, as a result, stressing, plotting, planning, overthinking, reliving, predicting, and overanalyzing ad nauseum, I have very little on my mind.

Through trial and lots of error valuable life experience, I've finally learned what far-wiser people have always known. It's not all up to me. Almost nothing is up to me. In fact, all that's up to me is how I react to all the stuff that's happening around me.

So . . . what's on my mind?

I think I'll have a bowl of chocolate ice cream. 

************

I appreciate Facebook and how it connects me to so many people I would otherwise not be able to communicate with or get to know. Sometimes, though, it is simply too much. Too much strife, too much fake news, too much of too much.  What do you think? And how do you utilize social media without becoming overwhelmed by it all?


(meme courtesy of Pinterest)