The latest clean-up craze sweeping the world is based on Marie Kondo’s ‘The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up.’ From what I’ve gathered, the general idea is to whittle your possessions down to those objects that truly make you happy – or those that “spark joy.” Strangely enough, or expectedly for one as seemingly frivolous as me, I’ve only ever owned things that give me joy. (You won’t find a vacuum on my wish-list.) So utilizing that clean-up method won’t really change my living situation. Besides, I’m pretty good at discarding things that have passed their usefulness or joy dates.
The one area where I’ve let things get out of control is social media. Up until now, I’ve allowed all sorts of nonsense to go on my FaceBook, Twitter, and Instagram pages. While I can control what goes up here, those pages are open to all sorts of public interaction and comment, and my page is also filled with the views and photos and links of anyone whom I’ve friended or followed.
For some reason, I’ve always erred on the side of allowing just about everyone’s comments to stay up. When they criticize my clothes or hair or body, I let it stand because, hey, this is America, and part of me felt it was more cowardly to delete them or take them down. (The only times I’ve removed comments were when they were about others.) I also remained friends/followers with those people whose posts regularly pissed me off. Whether it was their political stance (there are no reasonable Republicans left, and certainly not any in this Presidential race) or their racist/homophobic tendencies, or their ridicule of Madonna. I let it go because, well, I felt it was only fair to give them their say.
I’ve since changed my mind. While everyone is certainly entitled to their opinions and beliefs, I no longer have to have it on my page. I’m not a celebrity, I’m not a politician, I don’t need to give equal face-time to opposing viewpoints. – FaceBook, Twitter or otherwise. So from this point forward, if I don’t like something on social media, I’m probably going to unfriend, unfollow, or block. This is my way of keeping only those things that spark joy in my life. Of late, much of what I’ve been seeing online is depressing and upsetting, and I want to have fun when I’m delving into social media fluff. It’s escapism for me.
I don’t want to see or hear about political battles from anyone who seriously considers Donald Trump one of its top contenders. I don’t want to see videos about aborted fetuses. I don’t want to hear someone like Kim Davis say sanctimonious bullshit. I don’t want to read ageist or hateful comments about Madonna. Newsflash: I love Madonna. In what way does your joking about her being in a wheelchair or looking like a granny seem like it would be enjoyable or funny to me? So from this point forward, nasty comments about anything I post (especially Madonna) will get deleted, and repeated offenders will be dropped without notice or fanfare. (I also don’t want to see any more horoscope posts. I don’t give a fuck what the day has in store for an Aquarius – I’m not a fucking Aquarius.)
This is less a warning or threat, and more of a simple explanation, without spite or anger (ok, maybe a little horoscope anger). In the new tradition of sparking joy, my social media pages are going to be about what I like and love, and anything that goes against that will be deleted or blocked. (And you are free to do the same to my naked ass as well.)
In the words of a wise woman, “I’m sorry, but this is not a democracy.”
Welcome, Joy. Bring your Happiness.
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