Have you ever scrolled through IG or FB and find that the posts that have sayings cause you to pause? We stop to read them because we want to see if we can relate to it or if the meaning resonates. 

Most of the time the person who is posting these sayings will ask us to “double tap” or leave a “yes” or the heart symbol if what they posted hits a nerve. I usually keep scrolling, rarely leaving a heart symbol or “yes”. 

But every once in awhile I will leave a comment because the post was exactly what I needed to see at the very moment that I read it. In other words, I was given a thoughtful pinch from a complete stranger on social media. 

I love traveling because when I’m away from home and/or typical responsibilities, I usually have time to let things sink in. This weekend, while visiting my home state CA for my son’s hockey tournament, I had a nice balance of vacay and hockey. I was reacquainted with the city of Carlsbad, CA, caught up with a high school bestie, ate some good food with my mom and MIL, hung out with the hockey parents and when I had alone time, I scrolled thru Instagram. While on IG, I came across two different yet related posts and the timing was perfect. I don’t think this was an algorithm thing but I was mad about something and the following saying on a post appeared on my feed:

I read it over and over. Yes, yes anger is exactly that. Wow, I had never thought of anger that way before and it made sense. However, I was feeling like I should speak up because I was sick of the bad vibe cycle and I felt that if I said something, I could fix the situation or at least unload my thoughts. Fortunately this saying came across my feed: 

First things, first. Destroy is a strong word but I like that it was used. It sounds counterintuitive to use destroy in a positive message but my interpretation is that the act of letting life take care of this person is so powerful that destroying someone would actually be less effective than walking away. This is positive advice rather than the definition of maturity. So I kept my mouth shut which is a big move for me since I like to fix things instead of letting it get worse. Now that I’m mature, I know that life will take care of it.

It may seem as if I get my values or that my moral compass is governed by Instagram but let me assure you that’s not me at all. I believe in signs and that nothing is a coincidence. It’s because of these beliefs, that I am able to receive pinches in many different ways and sometimes from complete strangers. I think these two gifts showed up on my IG feed in order to spare me and for that, I’m grateful. So in turn, I did double tap these two posts and I took the time to leave comments for the people who posted them. I wanted to let them know that they helped me; their effort of bringing good into the world was seen and heard by me. We should celebrate the posts that help us or make us feel validated. It only takes a second to give positive feedback and the act of doing that makes thoughtfulness social. This is something I’m trying to make happen more.

Pinches,

Barb