Selfishness

A friend of mine took a trip several months ago. It was a textile tour to a faraway land, led by an experienced and knowledgeable guide, who is widely respected. Upon her return she shared her experiences with our small group. It was a wonderful trip, marred only by something very disturbing that the trip guide had done. Oddly, at the outset of the trip the guide had warned all the participants that they could take photos only for their own use and could not share them in any way, including posting to the internet. We are not talking just about photos of people who may not appreciate having their image used, but any photos, including street scenes or even the odd photo of their breakfast for a Facebook post! After the trip ended one of the participants did, indeed, post a few photos on her blog. The guide learned of this and sent a scathing, threatening letter to the poster and copied it to all the others who had been on the trip. It was a nasty letter. It was a pretty shocking overreaction. We were all quite stunned, knowing the great reputation this tour guide had enjoyed in the past and all agreed this was such a turnoff we would certainly avoid her business in the future.

That was on my mind when I read this a few days ago.  Seth Godin writes a great blog and I often find gems of thought there and this was one of the best. "Exactly," I thought to myself. Selfishness is never a good business strategy and an even worse human trait. So it is really surprising to me when you run into people who hold their ideas so tightly that you have to wonder how they came to be so badly burned. Such paranoia must surely be the result of a really bad experience somewhere along the line.

The part of the blog world I am most familiar with is filled with generosity and sharing of information. I take it for granted that if I have a question or need the solution to a problem all I have to do is ask and someone will supply me with an answer. That was demonstrated in a very small way this week when I asked where to find good paper now that my favorite purveyor has closed. I had suggestions and answers immediately. I try to reciprocate when I can.

So, happy Valentine's Day to all you generous souls out there! I may not say it, but I am touched by such openheartedness.

The image above is a detail from my new quilted work. When I shared it with my group last week they wanted to know how the little black dots were made. Sorry, I can't tell you. It is my secret invention.  HA HA! just kidding. It is black acrylic paint, squeezed out of a little plastic bottle with a sharp little tip. You didn't think I was going to hand stitch 100,000 French knots, did you?