When I first had the, “I really need to publish a book, plus I am tired of no one really understanding Spirit Moxie” conversation with my self, I chose the working title, Mattering. But I soon discovered that the problem with that title was that no one really understood what it meant. Mattering didn’t invite one to grab a copy off a bookshelf.
So when I first tried to save a draft of this Conversation piece, I got the message, “An item with the same name “Mattering” already exists in the same folder. Do you want to replace it?” Ahhh. I’d forgotten my book’s working title. So now those initial files are safely in their own folder under the book’s final title Moxie Moves:10 easy ways to make a powerful difference.
Today it is “mattering” as its own topic that is haunting me. Spirit Moxie, which has become part of my identity, now has a life of its own. Most of its fairly original ideas, which were once a tad controversial, are now common place. I’m single and alone a good deal of the time. I was pretty tired when the feeling that “I don’t matter” hit me a few days ago. Even while I was tired, I could journal a bit. I remembered that my children can’t really imagine a world without me, that I have great friends who love me, and that there are at least one dog and one cat on this world who miss me terribly when I’m not around—or at least their behavior when I reappear is indicative of that.
On a larger scale, why do we find claiming that we matter so difficult? Here in our Conversations and on our YouTube channel, I’ve repeatedly reminded all of us that we make a difference. But I’m betting that many readers put themselves aside as the one exception. Other people matter. But how could I?
As I write this, we’re approaching an election in the United States. Do you really believe it matters that you vote as we have claimed it does? And what was that about sleep which is one of the 10 ways to make a difference discussed in Moxie Moves? How could my sleeping, tired or not, change the world as a whole? Plus what about recycling? Does it really make a difference? Don’t they just throw everything away anyway?
I’m writing this during a MeetUp hosted by my housemate. While no one cares, really, what I’m writing, it’s not mirroring the group’s official writing genre. Does it matter that I’m mainly here to support?
And so it goes. Who, me? Matter? Turn it around! In the upcoming election, it matters that there is a person I’d prefer have elected. A vote at the very least acknowledges that and affirms the importance of participating. Getting a good night’s sleep makes me more productive and a lot easier to be around as well as healthier. And, when I was working on the “Recycle” Conversation post linked here, I visited a recycling plant, so I have seen recycling work. Plus, here at the MeetUp, I just lent some paper to a guy who asked what we are doing and sat down to join us. The participant sitting next to me signed up for Spirit Moxie emails and voiced interest in “mattering” as a topic. So, I mattered to them, and they mattered to me.
It works that way. One of my favorite social media hashtags is #makingadifference. Much of this is accomplished by claiming that you do, indeed, matter. If you can’t see it right now, take a breath. Look around – and at yourself. Yup. No one else sees or acts as you do. It is the claiming that is key.
Thank you for mattering.
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Images from the top:
Bed, book, and bear — Spirit Moxie
Shirt – you are where you need to be — Spirit Moxie
Shelves, MeetUp location, Bula Kava House — Noël Ponthieux