Goodness

<img class=”alignnone size-full wp-image-2947″ src=”https://hafuboti.wpcomstaging.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/deep-thoughts-hafu.jpg” alt=”” width=”584″ height=”389″>Warning: the following post is very wordy and pretty philosophical in nature. In other words it’s really not like most of my other posts ’round here. I won’t feel bad if you skip it. Promise.

For those who brave my musings – I’ve sprinkled the post with pictures that combine my Hafukiti and quotes about goodness. This is mainly for fun, but I also know how I feel when I read a lengthy blog post with no pictures. I likes me some pictures.

Writing this post has been at the back of my mind for awhile, and once I realized that I needed to write this post, another realization occurred: it was time to shake things up in Hafuboti-land. So, for several weeks now I’ve been really mulling over my thoughts and feelings, and how I wanted them reflected on this site, and with my work.

The cause of all of these thoughts was due to one of fibromyalgia’s most frustrating aspects: it wreaks havoc on my mental functions (mainly memory – it’s called “fibro fog”). However, there was one time this issue was actually kind of awesome: my incorrect memory of something Bryce from <a href=”http://brycedontplay.blogspot.com/” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener noreferrer”>Bryce Don’t Play</a> posted on Facebook has become a quasi-mantra in my life.

Here’s the post:

Here’s what my mind remembered:

A longtime friend of Bryce’s had asked her when she was younger why Bryce never complained or talked bad about people, and Bryce’s response? “What good would it do?” And she still has that perspective today.

And that really-close-but not-quite-right memory came to me after my Director talked about taking the high road during a staff meeting. And both her and Bryce’s words created one of the most profound paradigm shifts that I have ever experienced. I suddenly saw the question of ”what good would it do?” in a completely different light. It was suddenly not a frustrated cry, but a genuine question of “what good would it do?”

What good will I accomplish (in this world that so desperately needs goodness) if I behave this way?

What good will come of me griping about a person or situation?

Since that profound change in perspective I now try and question myself before I say or write something (beyond the normal chatter – I don’t want it sound like I’m questioning every little thing, cuz I’m not). It may not be a deep questioning, but it’s more of trying to sense what would be or cause good in the situation.

For example, while writing a blog post, I’ve begun thinking of things like this:

Should I write about or leave out part of my experience? Would one of those options help someone out more than the other? Would not sharing this information mislead someone in any way?

I think y’all probably get the gist.

It seems ridiculously simple (because it pretty much is), but it’s been very powerful in my life and since this attitude adjustment I’ve been more aware of how the goodness grows.

With all that in mind, I looked at how Hafuboti was built on creating and selling ornaments. Over time, the whole selling side of things has become less and less important to me. And I feel that this blog has morphed into something good for the library world. So, my tongue-in-cheek tagline of “upcycled ornaments for the insanely beautiful” no longer fits. My new tagline (”little bits of good”) is inspired by something Desmond Tutu said:

<blockquote>Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.</blockquote>

Those words really get at the heart of what my “what good will it do” question means to me.

So, what does this all mean for this here blog? There actually won’t be a heckuva lotta noticeable changes. People who opted not to read this post might notice a few cosmetic changes, but that’s probably it.

While I still plan on making ornaments, I believe it’s time to leave Etsy. I haven’t been a fan of the changes they’ve been making recently, and for me the ornaments have never been about making money. I’m looking into options for selling from my blog (after all, I still love the creativity and making something that someone will enjoy), and will get that up and going sometime in the near future. If you were waiting for me to list more ornaments, then don’t hesitate to reach out to me and request one. I can probably swing it.

That’s about it. I thought I’d share the what and why of my new mission of this blog. It’s always been an underlying current, but I feel like it needs to become the foundation.

And to wrap things up: two images that I enjoy, but didn’t seem to quite fit into the body of this post: