What’s your message?
Yesterday I read this post by Nicole Pointon where she advised companies to know their message, succinctly and clearly, before they start flinging themselves into every social media enterprise in the hopes of being the next big thing.
First, she cautioned, you must know exactly what you want people to know about your company.
Which got me thinking about this blog; Traveling Light.
What is my message?
This, of course, took me to the next thing. It would seem to me that the question is relevant whether you have a blog, website, company, brand or following. All you need for this exercise is a Life, because how we are in the world IS our message.
In my case, I am my blog. No, it’s not as sad as it sounds. I write about what I think, what I believe, what I’m wondering about, which is basically how I live my life. This is the stuff that occupies my mind and life.
Hence the interchangeability of Traveling Light & My Life. So then, I’m once again back to…
What is my message?
What do I hope readers will take away after a visit to Traveling Light? My message to the world, the ideas that I continually strive to achieve for myself, is to isolate what I think from what I’ve been told. I do this by getting ‘out there’, whether at home or out in the world.
My ongoing goal is to extricate my thinking from all the societal-cultural bombardment that tries to tell me what is valuable and what is not. And then, after I’ve once again swept up all the broken glass from my latest shattered perspective, dumped the trash-talk from voices exterior and interior, well then, I am left with my Traveling Light message for myself and for this blog.
- To look for ways to let go of expectations.
- To expand my notion of what is possible.
- To open my heart & mind: through Travel. Conversations. Food. People. Connections. Films. Books…Love.
- To Travel Light through life and the world.
I’m always open to new ideas. I’d love to hear what I missed.
Because here’s the other thing I know; certainty is death. Certainty slams the door shut tight. So, whenever I’m really sure that I’ve nailed down a view of how things are? I’m pretty sure I’ve probably missed something really big. That’s when I like to kick the door ajar and invite in other notions.
The older I get, the less I know, which I suppose, is one more way of traveling light.
I am with you on everything said here. And when you casually mentioned that faith was coming up soon, my first response was “Oh, oh.” But then, I’m not certain if I really feel that way.
Ha! Good one Carol. Faith can be a bit of a ‘flag’ word for me too. But it is occupying my mind lately in much different ways and forms than the word I grew up with.
To my astonishment the world seems to have grown larger, not smaller, as I have matured. There are so many new and interesting things to do, to see, to learn. For me it is the natural world and wildlife that I find peace and tranquillity.
Catherine, the world feels bigger to me too. I don’t agree with the people who say our world has gotten smaller because of ease of travel or the internet. Don’t get me wrong, I love that we can connect easier with people and places from such different cultures and perspectives.
However, I find that the more time I spend on any subject or in any place, is when I find how little I know and how much more there is to discover.
It’s truly humbling. Perhaps that’s the point.
Interesting blog Colleen. I haven’t thought about what my message is but a button I found on the ground while on a bike tour said “The best things in life are not things”. (Except, perhaps, for my bicycle). My life, my philosophy changed. Less is more, travel light. I’m grateful for my opportunities, that I can be of use, to engage, to acknowledge, to lift others. I find ways to improve my life by attempting to improve the life of those around me when I can…like connecting, even in some small way, to coexist. To quote you, “how we are in the world is our message”. Strive to be happy.
Welcome Gorde. I’ve always loved, “The best things life are NOT things.” And I too, make exceptions for some ‘things’ that improve my life; like my bike, good hiking boots, espresso machine 🙂
I think our lives could be like the aesthetic quote from William Morris,“Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful”
I agree with you, that being of use and “improving the life of those around me”, in even simple ways; by giving clerks the gift of patience, random strangers a smile and the always useful gift of kindness to everyone we meets, is a way to bring beauty into the world.
You make it look easy Colleen. It’s really not that easy. Not easy to separate the chattering opinions from your own beliefs. Not easy to remember what your gifts are and to keep giving them without expectation of reward or validation. Not easy to stay calm amidst the incredible amount of noise out there in the world. The hardest of all for me is to let go of expectations. Where do you draw the line between caring and controlling? Between believing and giving up? It takes an enormous amount of faith. Thanks for keeping things in perspective.
Hello Miz Scott 🙂 I want to apologise if I made this sound or look easy. It is SO not easy.
Half the time I don’t know my own name, never mind what I think or believe. I think you’re right about how hard it is to let go of expectations…I think I relearn that one about six to one thousand times each day.
I think the one thing I might know is that awareness is key to the whole effort. I think just choosing to pay attention and to observe my own behaviour and reactions, gives me the little bit of space to choose my reaction. Hell, sometimes it even works.
Thanks for your thoughtful comment.
It’s funny you should bring up faith. That’s another topic that I’ve been pondering. It’s bound to show up on these pages soon…
No apology necessary. I was simply waxing philosophical yesterday. Sometimes those “useful things” conspire against you. For example, this week alone, I’ve had to repair a sick car, my hubby’s tooth broke off requiring a $2000 root canal and crown, and this morning I actually blew up my microwave oven. Blew it up! KABOOM. Ha. Now normally I’d say I’d like to keep those useful things around, but when the headaches and bills pile up, I’d rather live in a cave or on a beach with nothing at all. I try to laugh, “be aware”, keep my perspective, but sometimes you just feel like crying. I could blame Mercury in retrograde but I still have to clean up the mess. Nevertheless, it’s a helpful way to look at life, especially when you’re down. Hope your week goes better than mine. : }
I’m right there with you! There are days that no amount of philosophical musings, mantras or meditations can keep me from crawling directly into the Cave of Outright Despair. Hey, we could call it the COD place, as in, “I’m heading in to the COD!”
Because sister, I hear thee. Shit happens. Sometimes I handle it. Sometimes? Not so much. Hope things improve quickly (though admittedly, the blown up microwave makes a great story!)
COD. I like that. I’ll let you know how the microwave story unfolds. You see it’s already the middle of that book. In the first part, the the cat bring a baby mouse into the house and then fails to catch it again. It grows up eating cat kibbles and candy canes, to be big and fat and very clever. Then it’s discovered that it’s set up house in behind the oven, complete with fuzzy furniture made from shredding insulation. So the stove gets pulled out, unplugged and vigourously cleaned and sterilized, because of all the mouse droppings, etc. And while the stove is not functioning, the family try to experiment with boiling an egg in the microwave. And well, you heard about that.
So. I’m thinkin’ Chinese takeout for dinner. Except of course we’re broke from the car repairs and the root canal. Maybe we could eat the leftover cat kibbles. I think I have a recipe somewhere… 😉
Oh yes, I know the recipe…Creamed Kibble a la Kippers. Stunning medley of flavours!
The thing is, if nothing ever happened, if all went seamlessly/swimmingly/satisfyingly (oh how many more alliterative adjectives can I throw in here??), there would be NO story.
Because I want to say that this story is too much fun. This would make a great kids picture book. I had a total visual of the clever mouse and her lovely pink insulated house getting delightfully rotund while the human family semi-starves and blows up eggs in the microwave.
I can see it now. I knew there was a silver lining in this cloud somewhere. I wonder if the mouse turds are an impediment to publication. No matter, I’m heading for the drawing boards.
Best of luck. Enjoy the silvery lining 🙂
I’d also add that your travelling light philosophy also includes being open to possibilities, changes in travel plans, rain showers, unexpected inspirations, everyday enchantments and unusual foods – you’re a joy to travel with.
Michele, I believe you just described yourself too 🙂 I think the thing we share is we both know how to hang with whatever’s happening.
You make it all look easy…