Curating our World in Real-Time

One follow on Instagram and the potentiality of a word to make sense of so much for me and maybe for you, led to this post.

With extra time over the holidays, I have been in the habit of checking in on social media a time or two more than I should, and this time, I was surprised to see a friend in real-time had followed me and there was the option to follow them back. This may be a daily occurrence for some but with only a little over a hundred followers and myself following almost seven hundred accounts, this was not the case for me. I realized that most of those following me are accounts I had followed because of content or services of interest to me, whether it was poetry, meditation, yoga, or a product  I could get behind. Even though the people behind these accounts are not my friends, I feel a connection to them and what they represent so I graciously hit the heart button, make comments, and copy meaningful posts to share with my few followers and Facebook friends. 

 Recently I participated in an online offering from an account on Instagram and the woman behind this very influential account, with thousands of followers, referred to herself as being a curator.  By definition, a curator is a keeper or custodian of a collection. A curator needs to be able to recognize whether something is of value or sufficiently important to bring to the collection and whether the object is genuine.  We usually only hear of a curator in terms of a museum or gallery but in this case, she was referring to all of the resources she was bringing to her work from Instagram accounts; of poets, books she had perused, activists she interviewed for her podcasts and the list goes on.  The reason I share this is it made so much sense to me for her but also for what we are all doing on social media.  When we hit that like button, make a comment, or share, we are essentially up-leveling the person behind the account. We have sifted through to find what fits with our collection of worthiness and we are validating their content and ultimately them, as genuine. Our accounts are a conscious or unconscious collection of what or who we value and are representative of where we place our attention on social media and off. 

Now that I realize I too am assuming the role of curator, by holding space to support, the words,  causes, and services of those I follow, I thought about how I could be a curator for myself as well. I have decided to press the metaphorical heart/like button when I follow my own heart whisperings, when I  notice my thoughts but select which ones are genuine and deserving of being followed, and when I continue to make decisions that ensure my well being and care.  I won't stop supporting in the virtual world either but I am thinking that curating for friends, family, and colleagues is more important than ever. What if we bring those likes in the form of encouragement and praise to all efforts witnessed to become more of themselves, to be authentic, vulnerable, and creative? Let's sift through the outer armor to find the real gems buried within ourselves and others because if one thing is for sure, everyone in our lives deserves to have us show up as curators in our relationships.

 Some of you may not even see  how valuable you are in this curating role. You are ensuring care for aging parents,  spouses, children of all ages,  family members with disabilities or mental health challenges, communities, and roles as stewards of the earth.  These are just a few of those needing your heart likes, comments of encouragement, and stepping out courageously to let everyone know we love what they do, who they are, who they are becoming, and how much we believe in their genuine worth.