Accentuate the Positive
Jan. 6th, 2016 11:00 pmThanks to the reminder from
umadoshi that More Joy Day is coming, on Thursday, January 14th. It's an idea that's beautiful in its simplicity: on More Joy Day, perform one action that's intended to put more joy into the world. From last year's post:
I participated in this last year by writing a happy flashfic -- one that made me smile, made other people smile, and it even made the characters happy. I'll try to do the same this year, but even if I have to content myself with something smaller, that will be enough.
I've been thinking for awhile now that I would like 2016 to be a year where I focus on the positive, both in fandom and on the internet generally. I tend to be an optimist by my nature: someone who tries to focus on the bright side of things, to find reasons to like things even when they're flawed. Between the election year and my continued employment uncertainty, there are enough stressful things in my life without making the Internet yet another source of it. Of course, this doesn't mean never saying anything critical ever -- that's neither realistic nor something I would actually want, since casting a critical eye on media is half the fun of fandom, for me. But I want to be more mindful of what I'm putting out in the world. More Joy Year? It certainly can't hurt to try.
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Remember, even a small act is all that's needed. A call to a friend you haven't talked to in awhile, flowers for a neighbor, letting someone in front of you in line, leaving a happy comment on someone's fic or vid or podcast or graphic, sharing a pic!spam of joyful moments on your journal, giving someone a compliment, planting a tree, or taking a moment to smile at someone else as you walk by them.
I participated in this last year by writing a happy flashfic -- one that made me smile, made other people smile, and it even made the characters happy. I'll try to do the same this year, but even if I have to content myself with something smaller, that will be enough.
I've been thinking for awhile now that I would like 2016 to be a year where I focus on the positive, both in fandom and on the internet generally. I tend to be an optimist by my nature: someone who tries to focus on the bright side of things, to find reasons to like things even when they're flawed. Between the election year and my continued employment uncertainty, there are enough stressful things in my life without making the Internet yet another source of it. Of course, this doesn't mean never saying anything critical ever -- that's neither realistic nor something I would actually want, since casting a critical eye on media is half the fun of fandom, for me. But I want to be more mindful of what I'm putting out in the world. More Joy Year? It certainly can't hurt to try.