Addictions come in a variety of forms. I am afflicted with a number of addictions: poodles, Lindt chocolate, tacos, Nespresso cappuccino, and my latest, PINTEREST. I should have included Apple products in my list of addictions, because my ipad is right up there on my list of what I NEED on a daily basis. If it weren't for my ipad, Pinterest wouldn't have been able to take me by the throat the way it has. As someone who has battled and overcome drug and alcohol addictions, I am perfectly happy to embrace this overwhelming urge to investigate Pinterest even as I type this blog. Self control is a fruit of the Spirit, so I shall desist. A peek or two before bedtime will have to suffice.
What is Pinterest you may ask? As I ponder the answer to that, I realise that no one CAN explain the rush an addict experiences when confronted by the object of one's craving, and the opportunity to indulge. I felt a tug of conscience as I typed that last sentence. Granted that this is a light-hearted bit of fun, but to equate a desire for a cappuccino with the destructive compulsion of a heroin addict is beyond decency. In searching for a synonym for "addict" I came across this definition of addict: 2a. "The condition of being habitually or compulsively occupied with or involved in something.
2b. An instance of this: had an addiction for fast cars.
Now I don't feel so bad, and shall continue to expound on my personal obsessive behaviours.
Back to Pinterest. I have no idea who sits down and thinks up these activities which turn rational human beings into techno slaves. All I know is that their creations become my afflictions. I heard about Pinterest from a variety of friends, but just couldn't get excited. I was already addicted to Twitter ( now a distant, unlamented memory ). I enjoyed pithy sayings, humorous comments, headline news, spiritual nuggets, all within the restriction of 140 characters. Then I was told that Twitter was "out", and Instagram was "in". This in and out stuff had nothing to do with fashion. I guess! It was all about who was posting what where. So if the movers and shakers of Hillsong had all deserted Twitter for Instagram, this meant that most of my friends would follow suit. I tried to find out what the attraction was, to be told that people posted photos of everything from their breakfast, to coffee and croissants in the cutest and latest coffee shop, to photos of themselves shopping, their children sleeping, etcetera etcetera etcetera. What, I asked, did one do with a great quote, a spiritual insight from C.S.Lewis or A.W.Tozer? I was met by blank stares and worse, suggestions of how I could photograph the saying, encase it in a beautifully ornamented frame, and post that on Instagram. For someone who thought she was fiercely independent and who obstinately refused to follow trends, I have to confess that independence bit the dust, and I joined Instagram. I even did the saying-in-a-frame thing, and several people "liked" it. Wow!
When I heard about Pinterest I felt a surge of rebellion. Was I now to desert my newly acquired Instagram skills for yet another distraction? I have never really taken to Instagram. I know how to use it, but only ever take photos of my dogs, which palls after the twelfth picture of a poodle looking cute. So I needed to know that Pinterest, which seemed to consist mainly of photos, was worth my consideration. Cheslyn was the one who convinced me. The same Cheslyn who made me write my first blog, who has convinced me to take many a step I would normally never take, set about converting me to Pinterest. What was the point of it, I wanted to know. Well, said Cheslyn, it is like having lots of boards that you can pin things on. This was not enticing me as I had no desire to have a collection of bulletin boards on my ipad. Her next effort was to show me a "pin" which did grab my attention. "You know what it's like to have a pair of jeans where the zip keeps opening?" Cheslyn is nothing if not persistent and enthusiastic. "Just look at this. I don't know why no one ever thought of this before!" The photo showed a ring from any key ring, attached to the zipper. When the zipper is up, the ring is then slid around the button of the jeans, and voila! The zipper stays up. But one good idea was not enough to grab me. I think what finally gripped me was Cheslyn's suggestion that I have a board where I could pin pictures of poodles. I am someone who hangs poodle calendars, collects poodle cartoons, and will buy sweets I don't like because they come in a poodle tin. The idea of finding photos of poodles and having them all in one place suddenly seemed like a good idea. And so I launched into Pinterest.
You can have as many boards as you like. I now have 38 boards. That shocks me. I had to go onto Pinterest to check. My boards range from ART to WORTH A TRY, on which I have pinned all kinds of ideas which one fine day I MAY get around to trying to see if they work. I also have WEATHER because I just love photos of lightning, clouds, torrential rain, and more lightning. I have a board called RANDOM LIKES where I can pin things that don't fit into the other 37 categories. The funniest of all is a board labelled RECIPES. I don't cook, but I do read recipes, and I imagine myself cooking. Then there is one called HUMOUR which is self-explanatory. To my utter shame I was told one night that I had exceeded my number of pins for one day and was in danger of being reported as spam. Do I like Pinterest? I am a devotee. When I meet up with people who also "don't get it", I grab them with evangelistic fervour, and start thinking up boards they would enjoy creating.
The moral to this story is NOT that we should have the same zeal to see people saved, which we should. Rather, as I trawl through boards of people I don't know, finding that we have similar tastes in furniture, or the same sense of humour, or a like poodle passion, it makes me aware of God's individual creation in each of us. Every person is distinct and unique. No two people have identical "likes". Some people pin their tragedies as well as their triumphs. Others are unashamedly odd, and yet the Pinterest community accepts them. I think the more boards you create, the more you discover of the things that you really enjoy. Perhaps it is a voyage of self-discovery, with no one to find fault with what you choose to pin, because, after all, it is your own board. And overarching all this is our Creator, who loves and adores us, and is, I believe, very happy when we find something innocent and absorbing that gives us pleasure. Because I know He has a board with my name on it. And one with yours.
Till next time, God bless, and have a joyous September.
What is Pinterest you may ask? As I ponder the answer to that, I realise that no one CAN explain the rush an addict experiences when confronted by the object of one's craving, and the opportunity to indulge. I felt a tug of conscience as I typed that last sentence. Granted that this is a light-hearted bit of fun, but to equate a desire for a cappuccino with the destructive compulsion of a heroin addict is beyond decency. In searching for a synonym for "addict" I came across this definition of addict: 2a. "The condition of being habitually or compulsively occupied with or involved in something.
2b. An instance of this: had an addiction for fast cars.
Now I don't feel so bad, and shall continue to expound on my personal obsessive behaviours.
Back to Pinterest. I have no idea who sits down and thinks up these activities which turn rational human beings into techno slaves. All I know is that their creations become my afflictions. I heard about Pinterest from a variety of friends, but just couldn't get excited. I was already addicted to Twitter ( now a distant, unlamented memory ). I enjoyed pithy sayings, humorous comments, headline news, spiritual nuggets, all within the restriction of 140 characters. Then I was told that Twitter was "out", and Instagram was "in". This in and out stuff had nothing to do with fashion. I guess! It was all about who was posting what where. So if the movers and shakers of Hillsong had all deserted Twitter for Instagram, this meant that most of my friends would follow suit. I tried to find out what the attraction was, to be told that people posted photos of everything from their breakfast, to coffee and croissants in the cutest and latest coffee shop, to photos of themselves shopping, their children sleeping, etcetera etcetera etcetera. What, I asked, did one do with a great quote, a spiritual insight from C.S.Lewis or A.W.Tozer? I was met by blank stares and worse, suggestions of how I could photograph the saying, encase it in a beautifully ornamented frame, and post that on Instagram. For someone who thought she was fiercely independent and who obstinately refused to follow trends, I have to confess that independence bit the dust, and I joined Instagram. I even did the saying-in-a-frame thing, and several people "liked" it. Wow!
When I heard about Pinterest I felt a surge of rebellion. Was I now to desert my newly acquired Instagram skills for yet another distraction? I have never really taken to Instagram. I know how to use it, but only ever take photos of my dogs, which palls after the twelfth picture of a poodle looking cute. So I needed to know that Pinterest, which seemed to consist mainly of photos, was worth my consideration. Cheslyn was the one who convinced me. The same Cheslyn who made me write my first blog, who has convinced me to take many a step I would normally never take, set about converting me to Pinterest. What was the point of it, I wanted to know. Well, said Cheslyn, it is like having lots of boards that you can pin things on. This was not enticing me as I had no desire to have a collection of bulletin boards on my ipad. Her next effort was to show me a "pin" which did grab my attention. "You know what it's like to have a pair of jeans where the zip keeps opening?" Cheslyn is nothing if not persistent and enthusiastic. "Just look at this. I don't know why no one ever thought of this before!" The photo showed a ring from any key ring, attached to the zipper. When the zipper is up, the ring is then slid around the button of the jeans, and voila! The zipper stays up. But one good idea was not enough to grab me. I think what finally gripped me was Cheslyn's suggestion that I have a board where I could pin pictures of poodles. I am someone who hangs poodle calendars, collects poodle cartoons, and will buy sweets I don't like because they come in a poodle tin. The idea of finding photos of poodles and having them all in one place suddenly seemed like a good idea. And so I launched into Pinterest.
You can have as many boards as you like. I now have 38 boards. That shocks me. I had to go onto Pinterest to check. My boards range from ART to WORTH A TRY, on which I have pinned all kinds of ideas which one fine day I MAY get around to trying to see if they work. I also have WEATHER because I just love photos of lightning, clouds, torrential rain, and more lightning. I have a board called RANDOM LIKES where I can pin things that don't fit into the other 37 categories. The funniest of all is a board labelled RECIPES. I don't cook, but I do read recipes, and I imagine myself cooking. Then there is one called HUMOUR which is self-explanatory. To my utter shame I was told one night that I had exceeded my number of pins for one day and was in danger of being reported as spam. Do I like Pinterest? I am a devotee. When I meet up with people who also "don't get it", I grab them with evangelistic fervour, and start thinking up boards they would enjoy creating.
The moral to this story is NOT that we should have the same zeal to see people saved, which we should. Rather, as I trawl through boards of people I don't know, finding that we have similar tastes in furniture, or the same sense of humour, or a like poodle passion, it makes me aware of God's individual creation in each of us. Every person is distinct and unique. No two people have identical "likes". Some people pin their tragedies as well as their triumphs. Others are unashamedly odd, and yet the Pinterest community accepts them. I think the more boards you create, the more you discover of the things that you really enjoy. Perhaps it is a voyage of self-discovery, with no one to find fault with what you choose to pin, because, after all, it is your own board. And overarching all this is our Creator, who loves and adores us, and is, I believe, very happy when we find something innocent and absorbing that gives us pleasure. Because I know He has a board with my name on it. And one with yours.
Till next time, God bless, and have a joyous September.
OMGosh you've gone to Pinterest! I'm not knocking it mind you, I'm one who still is hanging out on the sidelines, as one who does not "get it" for myself. When you told me here layed you new interest and you were excited, I did not dare tell you earlier in the week I had just cancelled my board due to lack of use. LOL! Now, I'll have to go check out your board of the poodle-doodles and recipes, since I do love the poodles, and I do love to cook! Champion on though!
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