no social media day 19: failing

Okay I've been failing the last few days. I'm just going to look at one thing turns into whoops, it's 2 a.m. and I've got to be a up in a few hours. This is fine. This is the part where you don't give up just because you aren't achieving perfection. Whether you're trying to stick to a religion or break an addiction they teach you that it's okay to stray from the path as long as you come back. I'm still being mindful. I'll still find myself at the threshold of making the decision and decide to make the right choice (which is not clicking on an app in this case). Those moments are wins, and I like winning so I'm going to keep doing that. I've noticed a marked difference in my state of mind and ability to focus based on if I've fallen into a social media vortex that day or not. I'd like to continue to reap the benefits of being social media free so I am going to continue to make social media free choices.

On an unrelated note, I went to the Oregon Country Fair for the very first time last weekend. I was way off when I assumed that was the place where you swap poultry and watch people rope a cow. To be fair, the name is very misleading. Nope, this is the grandfather of hippie festivals and the cousin of Burning Man (if you believe that article published by Oregon Live a few years back). On the outskirts of Eugene, Oregon a mystical village is erected annually to the delight of the environmentally conscious, psychedelic consuming, and overall ethereal and group-minded folk. Where do I fit in in that equation? Well I got to dress like a fairy princess so I was happy. (The photo is from me picking out an outfit at 3 in the morning when I couldn't sleep).

I was not happy about the crowds (which dissipated after a well-timed trip to the belly dancing tent), or the threat of people trying to get me to do things (which didn't happen) so after mitigating those, I was a reasonably content camper. I was about to be unhappy when a mud-caked troupe of naked drum pounders hollered their way through the footpath but as I was untouched and unmolested I kept my irritation to a minimum. I went to this thing sober, as alcohol was not allowed, so keep that in mind.

It was cool though. It was like Ren Faire meets a summer house party where you don't know anyone meets farmers market but with a lot more drugs and nudity and costumes. And so many people. Sooooo many. I believe they reported 58,000 over the course of the weekend. Good thing it was a sprawling spider webbed kind of layout to keep the people from amassing into one giant maelstrom of discontentment. Also the weather was fantastic.

I don't know why I'm writing this way today. Must be all the reading I've been doing. Wordplay is actually becoming fun again and not just a burden to eschew because my brain is too worn out with social media to focus. See? Benefits! This one's for you, Niki. May your "enemies drink deeply of defeat, that cold and bitter wine. May the tannins choke their lying throat and stain their lips to match the cowardice of their hearts" as you would say. I do seriously want that on a pillow though. We need to make that happen. Thank you for poking me for updates, you are a pivotal part of this blog <3.