Saturday, June 22, 2013

the gift of sharing

a note on sharing
what do you share?
we share our lives with our family & friends
we share our love with special people who warm our hearts
we share our homes with people we care deeply for
we share our thoughts & wishes
we share our skills in our work place & in our homes
we share our gifts .... or do we?
way back last advent....
 ann our director of Wellspring spoke 
about the 3 wise men & their journey
a journey that for certain had many physical obstacles
those wise men carried gifts
gifts for a king
a king sent to save us all
sent to share his love
to share his word
to share his life
perfect model for all of mankind
got me thinking then & i keep revisiting about
how i share my 'gifts'
been reflecting on what my gifts are?
i am an artist, a maker & a teacher
i naturally want to share ideas
 ann made the point
that if we ALL actually 'shared' our gifts
instead of hoarding them for 'some day'
(when is 'some day'??)
the peace that we all search for would
'be'

God asks us ...
to share
to act justly
to love mercy
to walk humbly
Micah 6:8

in our 'humanness' we all find it hard to share
sharing means that we have to take a risk
we find ourselves overwhelmed with timetabled commitments
 with loyalties, we protect our individuality, we hoard
... or simply we are fearful
fear is such a powerful matter of the mind
that can cripple us from our path
now .... i'm going to
share
my thoughts about:
sharing & blogging
might be a touchy subject ..... 
so be warned or simply ... do not read on!

when you are a blogger you are naturally sharing
...sharing ideas or feelings or thoughts
its personal
(but its my blog so i can essentially blog what i like!)

i will often write in comments i leave for other bloggers
"thanks for sharing" .... as i appreciate what it takes to actually share!
when the un-spoken rules of blogging etiquette are ignored
its hard to take
hard because you've shared yourself
& then the response has not been
just
or humble
or respectful
in all of history there has never & never will be a vacuum of ideas
the history
of architecture
of art
of food 
of farming
of dance
of music
of literature
of science
of story telling
every single creative mind has been
influenced
so of course if you read a lot of blogs
then you to will be influenced & inspired
it kind of ...
is the point
!!
but the very personal element of this is ...
really the ideas of someone
albeit on their blog
are that person's intellectual property
so no one should really be
pinching ideas
the nature of blogging as an absolute has
no vacuum!
on one hand if you do not wish for your ideas to be 'pinched'
then simply don't blog about them
but what if they are purchased items?
when the detail has not been disclosed via multi-media?
what if as an original idea no-one 'owns' the copyright
but the way you've made something is uniquely yours as far as you know it to be?
so when we are influenced
 ... we pinch ideas or 'elements of'
it can't be helped in one sense
its why the www works
information & ideas spread quickly
nothing is original 
i've made plenty of things that have in no way
been my original idea
but as you may have read ....
i am proud of how i tweak it my way
so people ....
work on making it your way
& not directly or indirectly copying it
copying with no credit is not polite, its stealing, especially for gain
copying for no profit with no credit is still not polite
copying with permission & credit is the way to go
or simply make it completely different
i share from time to time
'how-to-make' stuff
often, none are my ideas essentially
but you know .... they've been given my wendy-tweak
so that makes them original right? ... or does it?
kind of yes but not
so i don't hold the 'rights' to them
yet does anyone?
grey area hey!
so 'share' people with full grace
share your ideas where appropriate
task risks
that way we'll all 'feel the love' ....
& the rebounds of sharing will be abundant!
if you'd like to make a comment on this subject you are most welcome
i may or may not choose to publish your words
if you have been a sharing blogger you too may have
found that sometimes sharing can backfire & be hurtful
perhaps even hurtful enough to not wish to share or blog-on?
not by anything you have done but from the actions of others
let me know how you handled it
if what i've had to say
'hits home'
 in some way
consider it, reflect on it ....
 i have considered these words long & hard
i hope that they will be understood as they are intended
so how will you use the gift you can give?
the gift of sharing?
take that risk
believe that the rewards will be great indeed
for if no one were to share
this world would be a very sad place indeed!


2 comments:

Katherine said...

Hey Wendy,

You know I have often thought about this when I see someone sharing on their blogs and then says "remember this is my original idea, please don't copy...." Sometimes I think "really?! bit big for your boots" or "fair enough..." or 'enter response here'. To be honest, I am then usually fearful of being accused of copying even if I had NO intention of doing so (all I would probably ever do is make things for the children anyhow). Generally out of respect I would never copy but sometimes my internal dialogue with some isn't as gracious because A LOT of bloggers are MAJOR braggers (yourself, definitely excluded). These other bloggers (I WISH I could name names! arrgh!) I believe actually steal ideas themselves. So.....long winded comment, short. It is a difficult thing really. Is the main concern that someone is them making money selling something they copied from you so in your mind that is your money? I don't know but I do hope that you aren't hurt by anyone purposely, specifically YOUR idea. You're great! xx

Karen said...

We've talked about this, quite a bit and I have some strong thoughts on it!
Like Katherine above I find it a bit much when someone takes an idea and duplicates it calling it their own.
I've seen some of the more well-known bloggers claim an idea that has been around for years as their own and i think it's really rude and also a bit ignorant.
What I am referring to is when they take the idea and so nothing with it - don't tweak it, don't add an original twist - just use it as is.
I love that you share ideas and tutorials and plans about things and I guess for me that I just wish other bloggers/people would use common courtesy and think about what is the 'right' thing to do - use their manners so to speak!
Have I used patterns friends have used, sure; have I made something I have seen somewhere els, sure - but with an original twist on it. After all, I am a self-declared pattern-follower - so for me the originality lies in changing the sleeve, the colour, the embellishment or something that makes the design my own.
I'd never use the exact pattern in the exact colour or fabric that I have seen someone else do.
Don't stop sharing though - it's what gives us all a sense of wonder and sparks our creative vibe.