Seaweed

Today, we’re trying something a little bit different. With the latest updates regarding Post.news and their path forward seemingly causing a rather severe jolt to the micro-blogging system, I’ve been trying to figure out where to pivot to full-time. I love Medium as this is a platform where I, as an author, am rewarded (most days) for good storytelling, but I have historically always drafted my posts first in Post.news and then copied them over here. It appears my habits will have to change, so in what will be an invisible process to you, my readers, this post is entirely composed within the glistening white expanse of Medium’s editor.

I’ve always maintained that good storytelling, whether autobiographical, biographical, ethnographical, or otherwise, should have some route to the open or free domain. I’m certainly interested in remuneration, as this helps maintain my chequebook balance from month to month. Still, most of what I write are stories from what happens in the ordinary, everyday occurrences I find myself in. That I should be rewarded for such seems odd at first glance, but it’s a good incentive to keep searching, seeking, and relaying the bits and pieces of life that make it so wonderfully blessed and, at times, challenging.

There’s always a little bit of kismet that brings us together. I’ve found camaraderie in the folks who’ve commented on my stories at Post.news and here. The notes about “Hey, you caused me to think a little” and “I needed this” are a warming glow stoked in the fire of my heart. These are better than any tip or trick a platform could provide because they make the community “tick.” We look for feedback as a reliable mechanism to understand our purpose and place. It can undoubtedly be a crutch or a debilitating blow to our psyche to give it such a preeminent place in our storytelling, but if we balance out the feedback with the confidence that our stories are, for better or worse, the fundamental nature of our existence…well, one can hardly feel any shame there at all.

Like the picture of seaweed above, we’re all in community together, whether here on Medium or elsewhere on BlueSky, Threads, Post.news, or Twitter. We’re also indicative of the general health of a platform. When we band together, necessarily or by force, we’re something to be reckoned with. When Substack leadership noted that they were disinclined to demonetize Nazi content, people left, and the communities they’d built followed. That’s a powerful testament to the health and safety we invest in when we build these communities together. I want the same for us here in the little bubble of my stories and the publications I syndicate to, so I’d ask for your help.

Let’s build a community here, filled with the riches of humanity and our collective experiences, and share the moments that greatly define how we interact with each other, governments, society, and the world around us. Being a passive member of the world means you have forgone your agency, so, in contrast, isn’t it better to grab ahold of the things that push and pull at you in order to change your circumstances?

Lastly, I’m grateful for the five words that have closed every post I’ve made over the last year and a half. These simple words were graciously given to me by a dog and their owner in a simple response to a post I can’t remember. But, when we speak them out, we’re empowered to grab ahold of a future that is yet to come, a present that begs for our attention, and a past that doesn’t define us anymore. I hope they, too, add to the stories you’ve yet to tell and the paths you’ve yet to journey on and…

May it ever be so.