gratitude
I came to steem to get away from arguing on FB. I scoped Steem out, found it to be a kinder place, and sent in my request to Steemit. I checked my email every day for that reply, and plunged right on in when the approval came.
Big mistake.
I may as well have been riding a 100 year old donkey.
I resteemed a couple of political posts, soon learned that could not be undone, and regretted my first three actions on the blockchain. Big fail on my part, and a learning experience – shutting my political mouth would be harder that I thought. I strengthened my resolve, and sought out poetry.
I’d written some of that ten years earlier, so I began my first blog ever by posting my earlier poems. I put the ones I loved the most up there first, and got no upvotes, no comments from humans, nada, zilch for two solid months.
I persisted. I learned about resource credits the hard way. My value went from 12 cents to 8 cents. I was about to give up when ….
Someone or thing delegated 50 SP to me! I had no idea what that was or whom to thank, but suddenly I could comment and upvote as much as I liked, and I did.
A nice haiku contest by @vdux brought a couple of sweet haiku out from me. Here’s the first.
A good sensation
haiku racing through my mind
like snow through a song
https://steemit.com/haiku/@owasco/2jpp4e-snow
I got a comment! I got a human upvote! I MADE SOME STEEM! Boy was I psyched.
Not long after that I tried my hand at the first of what I hoped would be a popular series, Advice by Haiku for Steemit Newbies.. This haiku is still my favorite post of all time on social media
In the beginning
I placed my most treasured work
and no one noticed
https://steemit.com/haiku/@owasco/advice-by-haiku-for-steemit-newbies
AAaaaand I went right back to no one reading and not one single upvote.
The above is a freewrite for @mariannewest's challenge https://steempeak.com/freewrite/@mariannewest/day-633-5-minute-freewrite-monday-prompt-100-year-old-donkeyand My five minutes are up.
I started out wanting to come up with a quick entry to @theycallmedan’s call for gratitude in these Steemy times, but the donkey prompt appeared to me in a vision before I had gotten very far, so this post is a combo. The above is the freewrite, and the below is for: https://steempeak.com/gratitudechallenge/@theycallmedan/the-gratitude-challenge
I’m still here! And loving it!
A bunch of people and entities kept me alive, most notably my mysterious benefactor, who I learned much later was @riverflows and there is still an endless flow of gratitude from me to her. @freewritehouse adopted me, @blacklux after that, @theycallmedan took me under their (what pronoun do you prefer?) wing for March, a bunch of people gave me the will to go on (@wonderwop, @mariannewest, @jayna, @fitinfun, @vdux and many more) and @carolkean gave me my wings.
Thank you to everyone who reached out to me here and made a connection!
Steem has gotten me writing again, a daily blessing. I support and feel supported by a number of communities and unaffiliated people. We laugh, we cry, we love each other and that is a prize I never imagined receiving on social media.
The greatest gift of all is I can see the holiness in my everyday life by sharing it with all of you.
The image is of me in front of 25 McDowell Avenue. It has to have been taken by my father on Greek Easter, because that is the only day of the year I would have dressed like that, bonnett and all.
So glad you've stayed 💕💕 This is a great read..Deeply moving ❤ Your gratitude, sincerity & great vibes are palpable 💯 Much Love to you Fam 🙏
I hope you take @freebornangel's advice 👍 I would love to see your posts with #neoxian tag while I'm updooting 😉
aaaand.. if you do hop into the city (discord), feel free to tag me to say hi so I can welcome you ☺ Would be awesome to see you there! 😍
Much Love 💞💞💞
Posted using Partiko Android
We are both in PHC I think. I have little clue how to navigate discord, but it's the next positive derivative on my learning curve. (Not sure I'm remembering HS calculus quite right with that metaphor)
Yessssss 🙌 We are indeed PHC Fam my friend 💕💕💕
If I can be of any help with discord or anything please don't hesitate to reach out ☺ 🙏
Posted using Partiko Android
updoot? you've lost me. I'll use the tag anyway, another plunge!
And thanks so very much for your kind words about my thoughts! would love to see you on discord too, if I ever figure the place out. I spend hours flipping through the channels.
Great take on the prompt.
I think that most of us started like that and made big mistakes our of ignorance and naivete.
But, like most of us, you also found support and motivation to stay here in Steemit and find your niche.
Thank you for being a part of that! It is a pleasure to know you.
Thank you for being
A part of that! It is a
Pleasure to know you.
- owasco
I'm a bot. I detect haiku.
And we're still reading @owasco, you've come a long way! 💕
Posted using Partiko Android
Thank you, and for the resteem Uncle!
What a great way to combine gratitude and a donkey (hmmm, I wonder if that sentence has ever been written before...LOL!). Seriously, there's so much about your Steem journey that resonates with me, and I'm glad you stuck it out. Absolutely adore your old school photo too. I'm also not sure if I've said this before, but welcome to the #PowerHouseCreatives family - they're essentially the reason I didn't leave the platform during my dark plankton days. 😊
Thank you! @freewritehouse rescued me. There's a welcoming community for everyone on steem it seems.
Thanks for liking my photo! I work so hard on those, just grabbing one from the internet doesn't do it for me, and the images often take me way longer than the text. That's the next game I'd like to step up.
Yep, that's one of the many awesomesauce things about this platform - so many incredible communities!
You're very welcome, and I agree - when you put your heart and soul into your words, having a generic type photo doesn't do it justice. And yes, I usually spend
way too much timea lot longer on my images than my text. Although sometimes I get a bit picky about my phraseology, and edit a thing to pieces... 😂And thanks for the resteem!
You're very welcome again! 😊
Oh, this!!
In the beginning
I placed my most treasured work
and no one noticed
AAaaaand I went right back to no one reading and not one single upvote.
For all the Steemians who seem to attract whale slaps and regular upvotes worth dollars, not mere pennies, and sometimes hundreds of dollars, I see more who sound like me: we post, but "no one" seems to be reading - except a few loyal regulars.
I gave you your wings? Me? Maybe I pointed out that they've been there all along and you just needed to flap them a little more.:) Thank you for crediting me with something I don't deserve, but I'll take it! Off and running with this football
I totally identify with the opinions and the difficulty restraining them. My sister almost bought this plaque at a truck stop:
"Everyone is entitled to my opinion"
That's why we write, isn't it? We can't let go of the idea that others should and must care what we think and feel and learn and want to share!
Whale slap? Is that a thing? Yeah I'm delighted with my @tenkminnow slaps, so finally I get to make steem at three times what I made before, and my bottom line sinks anyway. Ah, Steem. You gotta love it.
You know what you did for me. To me it feels like you gave me wings. I'll be forever grateful.
It's a really good haiku, right?! I freaking love that one, so I put it in my posts whenever I can. Thank you for your comment on it!
If I had the power to "whale slap" your haiku and all your posts and comments, you'd be cyber-rich!
hahahaha! A new adage! Is that an adage, "if I had a nickel for every time..." What is that? a colloquialism?
An adage would be "If I had a nickel for every..." while a colloquialism might be new (I think), like "if I had a whale slap for every..." Off to go see. Meh! I was kinda close:
...the difference between colloquialism and adage is that colloquialism is a colloquial word or phrase; a common spoken expression, often regional while adage is an old saying, which has obtained credit by long use.
Well, "colloquial among Steemians," maybe, the whale slap....
That's been a big problem for me in steem, the jargon, the lingo, the colloquialisms, the Dr. Zuess-speak. I try to read steem guides for dummies, but I get lost before I've finished a single sentence. It's sink or swim! And a damn nickel is really hard to make in the first place on steem. So the "nickel" adage would have a steem counterpart something like "if I had a thousandth of a steem every time ...., I'd be cyber-rich"
OK that's enough of this, it's time for the Sopranos, culling forty years of photographs, and manifesting dreams of whale slaps (or waking up to a real one!) for every one I love on steem. xo
I hear you!!!
And I'd keep upvoting every comment you post, but even with my whopping 2-cent upvote, I use up voting power before noon each day if I upvote every comment and every post I love. :)
oh no it's not quite right. I'm tired. I need cookies. Thank you once again for your support. May you be slapped by a whale in your dreams tonight.
We're growing wiser with every mistake we make. The thing is - we have to continue and never give up.
I can see why some would leave, but I am not here for the money so I appreciate it in a different way. Thanks for stopping by!
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Haha, Owasco, I like how you likened joining steem and trying to get ahead like riding a 100 yr. old donkey.
It’s been a long difficult climb @owasco but like most of us, you didn’t give up. I’m glad you stayed and it’s great meeting you here.
At first there was hardly enough resource power to even post and then worrying about VP to give a decent upvote.
oh goodness it was six months before my 100% upvote even showed up as one one thousandth of a steem.
Thanks for your support! I love what you do!
Thanks so much @owasco! It’s takes a long time to get some footing here. Appreciate your kindness, my friend. 💕
And thank you for the resteem!
Welcome. Your work is great!
What a great freewrite/gratitude combo post! I too was immersed in the political side of social media and found being here such a refreshing change!
Why thank you! It's refreshing for sure, it's been life changing for me actually. A hobby run amok.
But I do get into it a little here. The audience over all is much more receptive to my stances, and those who disagree don't ever YELL AT ME IN ALL CAPS.
Thanks for stopping by!
I like that I can be friends with everyone here and I don't have to worry about unfriending them when I find their political opinions offensive.
I went through much the same as you after I joined here, but for me it was around 6 months before I stared to get upvotes and comments regularly. I used to like fb but then one day the new algorithms came and people didn't see my posts any more, so for the last 18 months I've only posted my posts from steemit there, without interaction from others what's the point...
I'm Ok as long as one single person actually reads my posts. It's when I get only a mess of bot votes that I get discouraged. Have you tried Wednesday Walk hosted by @tattoodjay? That is a very welcoming bunch of folks. You just need to try to post it on Wednesday, the walk can be any time, as I understand it. It's fun, and has gotten me taking photographs for the first time in my life.