So fellow travelers, I woke this morning to find myself part of a brave new world.
The Chairman and admins of the Bedlam Farm creative page have started the process of migrating to a new format now known as the Creative Group at Bedlam Farm. The page will be open for public viewing on Facebook, so the world can see our “good stuff.” That’s the “brave” I refer to in my opening. Only members can post or comment, so the guidelines prohibiting negativity will remain enforceable. Those guidelines are the safety net which makes the unique atmosphere of our creative community possible. First time writers know their work will be encouraged, new photographers will have those first shots appropriately critiqued and artists working on other media can share their creations with confidence.
As in nature, not everyone will make the mass migration. There are many silent members who have not contributed even minimal comments of encouragement or appreciation taking up space eager creative applicants could have. Some are not comfortable with the public viewing their work. I can relate to the personal pain caused by visceral responses to something I posted on Facebook. I stopped sharing Jon Katz blog posts about the carriage horses on my own wall because I could not keep up with ignorant commentary it generated. I readily accept dissent and disagreement. I cannot tolerate stupidity and I choose not to perpetuate it with anything on my wall.
So here we are, awake in a brave new world, one quite unlike the ominous Utopian novel of the same name. Huxley’s trilogy came into my readers view at the impressionable age of thirteen and I have never completely shaken off the skepticism of Organized Anything. Still, here I am, grateful to be a part of an online safe haven for creative spirits.
Photo note: The image above was taken at Elowah Falls in the Columbia River Gorge. There I am, a small bright speck in a massive valley of mystic beauty, trying to figure out how to capture what I see and feel. My daughter, did it with her simple camera phone.
Walk gently on the path, my friends and may adventure find you ready.