Fires of confusion

It has been a busy day and I feel like it hasn't even started. Oh, it is Sunday? Like that matters. I have actually spent the day with my daughter and played most of the day away on the floor and running some errands that we both had to do. It was nice but now that she is heading towards bed (my wife came home a few moments ago) it is time to stop being slack and get to work. I probably have a few hours ahead of me before getting to bed myself as there is a 6 am train to Helsinki and a couple days away of training that await.

Steem is actually a break for me but at the same time, work. It is something I really like about it as it allows me mind to wander and explore wherever it happens to settle in the moment. Yes, I plan a fair few of my posts mentally before, but once I sit down to write, nearly every one of them is a freewrite and I allow it to just flow. I do much the same thing in my lessons with clients which allows us to flow through their needs and organically find solutions. It is much more interesting also which is why I pretty much write the way I talk.

I have written about it before but I find writing as quite self-exploratory and a way to work out the gaps one has. A lot of people (especially on Steem) spend their time trying to make sure that what they say is acceptable or, fashion it in a way that aims to get votes from the audience through various techniques that many tend to fall for. I prefer just to do what I do without concerning myself too much about how it will be received and I think because I do that, it is received generally well enough, even if people disagree with what has been said.

I think that the people who generally have issues with the way they are received here are generally not thinking too much about the way they approach their content. People like to send whatever they want out into the world and expect their to be no echo back, regardless of the delivery and online, people tend to be more dramatic, more aggressive and much more sensitive and outraged at anything that they hear, no matter how irrelevant to life it is. The Twitter approach to life.

There are many ways to broach a subject but most people who are aiming for some kind of support are going to play to the crowd they are looking to get that support from, which often means triggering the other side of the polarization. When they get targeted they are actually happy because they feel that it justifies their already polarized views and they play the victim card. These days, if one tries to take the middle path which generally holds more sense, they are the enemy of both tails either side and get targeted by the polarized extremes. Much of the spectrum of nuance is gone and all that is left is black and white and each side thinks that they are both simultaneously without recognizing any gray, even though they are generally the most conflicted and hypocritical themselves.

It is actually much like Steem as most people don't acknowledge the ecosystem here and choose to hyper focus on the parts that they feel affect them directly, even if it is only for a moment. Then in the next moment they contradict their position by focusing in on another piece. They treat each event as independent even though both operate under and within the same environment. A simple example would be those who complain about the way Steem is but complain whenever changes are made to the system because they dislike change. This isn't just Steem related of course though is it?

People tend to forget that on Steem, it is a platform about relationships and social interaction and if one is abrasive and aggressive, they better be damn sure they are absolutely correct in what they put forward. I have worked with some massive assholes in my life, I can accept it if they know what the hell they are doing. On Steem, some people try to act authoritative through their words on all manner of things yet, fumble whenever push comes to shove and look for someone or some code change to protect them.

It really is going to be interesting if Steem gets millions of real users because the people who wished for it might just find themselves replaced by users better suited to the ecosystem than themselves, more flexible, more maneuverable, more talented. Steem price might skyrocket at the point of mainstreaming but, unless you have some in your wallet, you have to continually compete for a crust and, the competition is unlikely to remain this thin. Do people think about that in the future? If Steem price is 20 dollars and there is 10 million users, will you be seen?

I don't put a lot of hope in myself being seen forever even if my content stays solid or even improves because there are going to be all manner of talented people hopefully coming into Steem to replace me. My hope is that there will be a space for my in curation or in development support where I can invest my wallet into people and projects I believe in. It would be pretty awesome to be able to earn through investing into the ideas and actions of others in a win/ win situation where all parties benefit from the relationship, including those who are down river. It would be pretty amazing to be part of improving the lives of many.

I think this is what we are slowly working toward here on Steem even though those who carry with them the baggage of their polarized and consumer fed lives may never see or understand it. So many want a better future yet only fight for an easier moment for themselves in the present and complain about being oppressed if they don't get their way. Maybe like my 2 year old daughter, they need to be sent to their room occasionally to think about why they are whining and can emerge when they can speak about it calmly.

I wonder how many of those who are aggressive with their words on Steem actually enjoy their lives, I wonder how many of the trolls are happy? Maybe they take pleasure in thinking they are causing harm but, does that mean they are the same in real life, what do their partners and children think of them? I say think they are causing harm because a lot of them seem to say things that they intend to be sharp and think that they hit home but, perhaps people are learning to be a little more like I have learned to be. I just don't have time for it and find it immature and dismiss them, no strings.

If someone hasn't learned how to control their emotions, their views are already poor, biased and likely, irrelevant. Not fun to hear for those who feel pouring their feelings out is healthy. It is not, feelings are reactions to stimulus, even if that stimulus is not understood or seen at all. When applied as indicators of the way a system works, feelings are very poor unless one has a very deep understanding of the factors that influence that system. Funnily enough, those that have a very deep understanding are very rarely emotional as they know what is going on and tend just to deal with it. It doesn't mean they deal well but, an even hand is much more likely to see details the raged will miss.

The fires of confusion burn until they run out of fuel and find their bridges gone.

Taraz
[ a Steem original ]