I LIKE FACEBOOK. A LOT!

Okay, I'll admit it...I love facebook. For all its critics (some justified, some not) it has become what I call a 'virtual candy story' where we can all hang out again, just as we did when we were kids...only this time, it's international. Best of all, we even have a jukebox! Music at the click of a button, to be shared with like-minded FB friends, along with the memories each song evokes.

I've become so enamored of facebook, I actually prefer it to a "real" one-on-one friendship. You can check in whenever you want to, scope out what's going on in just about every area that piques your interest, laugh at the screwball 'memes' (Grumpy Cat is my current favorite,) read or share a funny story, cheer someone up, wish them a happy birthday or just say "hey" and check out on a moment's notice ~ no fuss, no bother. Only to return later, or tomorrow, or whenever you have the time, and pick up where you left off. (And you'll receive warmer, more sincere welcome messages than you ever could from your own family.)

"Real" friends vs. FB friends? Far less maintenance, and far more information!

If you are a novice, you would be wise to exclude family members, and make friends with people who have common interests. Why? Because you may discover things about aunts, uncles, cousins, in-laws, not to mention old friends, that will make your hair stand on end. "Holy shit, I never knew he/she was so stupid (or racist or shallow or incapable of putting two sentences together!") 

So, familiarize yourself with the privacy settings, particularly the wonderful BLOCK feature which will wipe every trace of an unwelcome person from all future facebook ventures. Your facebook settings are very important...if you leave yourself wide open (PUBLIC setting) you're inviting every head case in the world to invade your space. Start with FRIENDS ONLY, then move on to FRIENDS OF FRIENDS once you know who you're dealing with, and take it from there.

Typing your interests in the "search" box will bring forth people from whom you can learn...be it politics, love of animals, goofy-fun-silly stuff, cooking groups, opera buffs, it's all there at your fingertips.

And if you're worried about "privacy," PFFFFFT! We've been tracked since the day we applied for a social security card, so forget that one.

These days, the concept of privacy is fantasy so don't be delusional-paranoid and avoid the wonders of a social network that connects you with some pretty fantastic people you would have never met prior to technology.

"TOO MESSY!"

During a recent conversation with a very dear friend who is half my age and of a far more sophisticated (European) upbringing than my own, I was beginning to "rant" ~ his word ~ about a third party's problems when he verbally stepped in and sharply said, "Too messy!" 

Stopped me in my tracks.

Too messy...so much wisdom in two little words. A very old pattern of one's mind is not that easy to change or transform, but if you don't let go of some of the clutter, your own life will become as complicated as others' may be (depending on the intake of information you allow) and yes, that could become entirely too messy.

And after a lifetime of dealing with other people's messes in one form or another (especially and including my own, circa 1946) my mind has begun fluttering away from troublesome conversations, like a butterfly unwilling to be kept prisoner by words that evoke anger or that feeling of helpless frustration when the Mobius Strip Merry-Go-Round of Insoluble Problems starts up again.

In the words of jazz great Michael Franks, "When you meet someone who inspires your worst angry voice, just retreat ~ happiness is always a much better choice..."

So when I hear words that evoke images and feelings of things I no longer want around, I have no choice but to retreat, keeping my own space neat, clean and as free of other people's stuff as possible.

(Thanks for the wisdom, DVS.)