My steem journey has been remarkable, in that it has hot-housed three HUGE issues in my life which I have grappled with. Each one of these issues has been brought to me by a special steem-teacher-mentor and I would like to appreciate these three leaders, and the learnings they have brought along with their juicy upvotes, tech-nerd advice and endless encouragement.
I have learned the most about judgement, or the lack thereof, from the person who onboarded me to steem: @kenistyles. I remember his many long responses to me when I self-righteously declared another person's post to be worthless and beneath my time to comment. He spoke to me of everybody's right to be where they're at, and for my need to suspend ego and to find that something in their post worth commenting on, or enjoying. I think he has helped shape me to be a better curator, and a better human. I may not like or agree with what you write, but I can appreciate and reward you for your effort in saying it. In our diversity, we are richer and stronger.
The freedom to step up has been embodied for me in @richardcrill. His creation of @freedomtribe with it's elasticity and generosity of spirit is everything I have wanted and needed. He invited me to step up, and I did. No rules, no prescriptive "do this, must comment 2 times on that, must be on Sundays"... and in that complete free place I am learning more about responsibility, true freedom and the delightful choice I make to empower others when I step up. He has my back, and I know that. As an enabler of the first order, he waits for people to volunteer. And then helps them to shine. The purity of intention and the complete freedom to explore what I want to give, and how-when I do that, has been an astounding gift.
Steem is full of wanna-bes. People steeming on their lunch breaks during their unexciting jobs, posting about all manner of things they're not quite brave enough to do. Someone who has stood out for me by lightyears is @eco-alex. He isn't waiting for 8 weeks of long service leave from some dreary job somewhere to have his eco-travel-experience - he's LIVING it. Now. Already. Powered by steem and crypto and generously helping others to cross that bridge. Manifesting the steem dream. He has cut ties with the government-driven mothership and is enabling others to join him in the manifestation of something even bigger than what he has already created: a steem eco-village. Steem is the beginning of true freedom, if we choose to take it past being keyboard warriors and see it for the manifestation tool it truly is.
Mostly steem helps me to clarify who I want and choose to be. The reflections of people and communities are helpful, but ultimately I decide what matters. Truly that is the heart of a decentralized platform, no? That we each find our truer, higher selves in relationship with, and in contrast to, a diverse web and community of others?
Tonight I'm feeling blessed and grateful to Keni, Richard and Alex. For their guidance and support and for being enablers.
Grateful beyond measure.
This is my response to @ecotrain's question of the week:Share About Something or Someone on the Steem Blockchain Who Has Inpsired You or Taught You.
Dear @artemislives In life we always find teachers, in our case dad @Kantos, we say so out of love, but he has no children of his own.
He has been great in his teaching, not only in terms of music, he teaches us with his example of charity, in terms of life, sensitizes us to situations of life quite difficult that we already suffer, but that others may be suffering much more than us.
The theme of freedom in our country is left to adults. In our case, day by day we try to overcome communication barriers, in our country is difficult, but it would be amazing to have a self-sustainable village, is a great project of your teacher...
Can you imagine that one day we will have a house of the Musical Kantoría Foundation in our country?
It would be fascinating, we would live every day learning music as a great mini-conservatory of academic and popular music, where we talk about values, life and live all together wow, just think about it, dream it and wish it with much desire together with my siblings chorus of our Foundation.
May some of the dreams of our master and those of us come true.
I think a seed has been planted!! 🌱
That's right @artemislives, we're sure of that, we hope it will germinate and bear good fruit.
@eco-alex.... see what you started? 😍
@eco-alex This kind of ideas are great, @artemislives it is possible that it will be ambitious for us at this moment, above all because of the current situation of our country Venezuela, but we are sure that "something" we can do to live better and perhaps the relay generation will be able to make this dream come true.
Oh I like that variation
"I may not like or agree with what you write, but I can appreciate and reward you for your effort in saying it."
from the quote I once have been tought to be
"I Disapprove of What You Say, But I Will Defend to the Death Your Right to Say It"
from Voltaire (without anyone mentioning back then that Voltaire has been a pen-name for good reason created by François-Marie Arouet).
Later I learned this quote to be put into Voltaire's mind by Evelyn Beatrice Hall and liked it even more. I lived by it a long time.
Until I suddenly realized how dumb I was to open up a stage to so many hypocrites. I then turned it around in my mind to be more like
"I Disapprove of What You Say, And I Will Not Defend to the Death Your Right to Say It"
However, I disliked the idea of letting go censorship and "fake news" without defence.
Now with this variant (and Steem!) I can see it from a new perspective again by appreciating and even rewarding that something could be addressed even without my approval, for being able to come back to it later, and without any risk to my life.
And from writing this comment I found a great article on the quote that I want to share.
https://quoteinvestigator.com/2015/06/01/defend-say/
What a lovely post! It's true for me too, I've learned so much from a few people here, have been blessed to meet some of them in real life even and have grown so much as a person since I came here. The Steem family is an amazing 'asset' to have in our lives!
If you hurry & get your appreciation & gratitude post done in the next hour or two, @eco-alex can include it in the QOTW tie post after he finishes yoga & meditation. Him being an hour behind in time def has its advantages 🤣
LOL. Yeah, I wasn't going to write this one due to time issues. But I think you convinced me to try at least throw out a short one this time :)
Bang it out, girl. Short, incisive & sincere is everything. 😍💚💯✔
True, lot of people in steem will serve as your mentor that made you a great person. There were things we thought we already knew but then we realised ae still don't. That's why by meeting new people, some of them drowned us and some of them rise us. Though the decision will always be yours but other people did something to make you realised how amazing person you are.
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Not sure 'amazing' or 'great' are completely apt descriptors 🤣 but thank you.
Bless u, u are such an angel and inspiration in your service to humanity. .. what you do on. A daily basis is often breathtaking.! Shine on !
Appreciating your manifesting & enabling self & starting my Friday with appreciation & the firm intention to lick that shipping program mountain this morning. 😘