Do you ever find yourself commenting when you could go one step further and blog? This happened to me this Sunday morning in Santa Fe. I was troubled by a suggestion to remove inactive Activerain members as a solution to improve what we do here in the rain. Numbers are important for one's blood pressure and frankly not as an indicator of Activerain's value to it members. What happens when we see ActiveRain as something like a flower?
Like you, I know there are times when I have not stopped to smell the flowers in my path or even in my own garden. In those moments, I was probably not in the present. I had wandered into overwhelm and focused on was focused on something like a worry or family problem or client issue I could to control or even solve. When that happened I missed an opportunity to be present in my actual experience. In my book, missing to stop and admire a flower is missing a gift and often an opportunity. And in Santa Fe, flowers are not an everyday occurence along our dirt roads.
Now, getting back to being in the rain. There have been times in my life when I have not been as solid and regular contributing a member as I intended to be. Although LIFE is an old magazine now, LIFE does happen to all of us as do the demands of our real estate practice and related businesses. I confess, over my many years here, I have missed many Activerain gifts by not participating. Sometimes after reading a blog, I will pick up the phone to connect to another rainer to help out when my time is limited. This activity is not tracked in our "point" system. And for many rainers I know, the "point" system is not why they comment or blog or even join this community. However, they can speak for themselves here.
For me, Activerain members have always been my online office and connection to new knowledge, support and fresh ideas and opinions. When I have lapsed and not logged in to smell the flowers and benfit from all gifts of knowledge and insight, I have missed opportunities. In the past, when that has happened, I will often get a call from a member to see if I am ok or need help.
Today, I am ever so grateful that AR has never limited membership based on participation. It is my belief this is a community where we choose to participate in any way we can as members for our own reasons. In my experience, most of us are in the rain to learn, connect, educate others, help, grow our business, improve ourselves, build community and give support. It is a place to stop and smell the flowers, plant new seeds and build a garden of knowledge. Activerain is just the beginning of building what can be a lifelong friendship and business relationship in a diverse community focused on giving back the best way we can. Thank you for reading. I look forward to your take and comments.
the best emoji back to Bananatude I could find! Thank you 
Comments(15)