With my break from blogging, I also stepped away from pinterest. I would pop in every once in a while and take a look around, but for almost two years I didn’t pin very often. My love for pinterest sways because as much as it is packed with good, amazing images – all hail Ben Silbermann!!! It also frustrates a lot of “creatives” who want to have and admire original ideas.
Maybe you have seen this happen: someone posts a creative/uniquely artsy idea or image on instagram. Within the first handful of comments a follower will say, so cool! i saw something like that on pinterest. Instant emotional deflation. In the art world, “all is copy” is a common phrase alluding to the idea that everything we create is copy due to the fact that our supplies and/or medium are already in existence. We have simply re-arranged the matter to view it in a different way. Or, the idea that so much art has been created over the course of thousands of years, there’s almost no way to have an original idea. Depressing, right? ESPECIALLY if you are a creature who yearns for authenticity. I haven’t received this typical pinterest comparison-comment too many times, but I see it and read it all the time, and it’s so frustrating!!!
Analogy: If you make homemade chocolate chip cookies, OR your friend or neighbor does, is your first thought, “oh my gosh! I saw chocolate chip cookies on pinterest!” nooooooo. your first thought is, “yay! yum! your house smells so good! I want one!” right? so, please…. celebrate others ideas. what they are creating. baking. decorating. DOING. because that’s it. they are DOING IT, and that is awesome, regardless of where they found the recipe, etc. If they know they need to give credit – where credit is due – they usually do.
This leads me to another point – my volatile relationship with pinterest. When I have an idea, sometimes I will do a quick google and pinterest search to see if anything like it has been done. Other times I avoid searches like the plague because I don’t want to have any prior knowledge if someone has created something like what I want to do before I get started. Anyone ever feel this way?
Then. With my return to blogging, I decided to get back on the pinterest bandwagon in the past few weeks. I was instantly re-addicted. Pinterest is the best way to be inspired and waste time – it’s a mindfully delicious combo. which leads me to the image above – it’s four quotes and/or “words” I’ve pinned lately. I love reading quotes and having them stuck in my head for days – you know they are thought worthy if they linger.
A couple of the quotes above remind me of another set of words that have stuck in my head all year by Alison, of the Alison show – she did a video titled, “invest in people who invest in you.” It’s been a philosophy I’ve been really trying to adhere to this past year. Crazy that as an adult, that can be a challenging philosophy to live by at times. But so wise.
What is your favorite way to use pinterest? see jane on pinterest >>> here.
I LOVED this post! I loved the quotes you posted, as well as the video from the Alison Show. I have been trying to implement what she talked about into my life. Thank you for sharing!
What you said about knowing that quotes are worthwhile because they linger for days after you’ve heard them really rang true with me after reading this post. It was a quote of YOURS that has stuck with me for the past few days…the part about homemade chocolate chip cookies. You are so right: no one would ever say, “I saw this on Pinterest!” about those. And I have echoed your feelings about pinning for a long time and have just never been able to really verbalize the struggle the way you did. Originality is so important to me; to the point that I will deliberately NOT do something (be it a cute craft, a shower/party idea) out of fear that it’s been overdone on Pinterest and others will call me out on it. At the end of the day, I think you’re right on: all IS copy and sometimes we just need to find a way to put our own spin on it.
I loved that you said that we need to celebrate that fact the people are actually DOING these things, as opposed to focusing on where the idea was found.
Thanks for another great post. It certainly stayed with me 🙂