I Am Engaged (made you look, huh?)

Engage

verb (used without object)

1. to occupy oneself; become involved

Why am I taking time to write this blog, to check my Facebook and Twitter account regularly, read my RSS feeds and tell the lady in the elevator with the bouquet of tulips in her hand that her flowers are pretty?

Because I want to engage.

Here's a confession: if I ruled the world, I would stay in bed all day and eat cheese and chocolate. Sometimes it's an EFFORT to follow through with the activities I have planned during my day. That's just the way I am right now. I'm sure that's not the way I'll always be; perhaps I'm still in hibernation mode.

Even so, when I do follow through, I realize how great I feel.

I increased my Twitter followers from 100-ish to almost 175 this week. In my world, that's a lot (Barack Obama wins with over 378,000 followers). I did it because I looked at all of the folks following me and wondered what they would bring to my table. And when I did that, folks from all over the world started to wonder the same about me and started following me. And I think that's pretty cool.

I engaged. It was a tiny bit of engagement, but still...

Sure, there's lots of reasons to be on Twitter, and those reasons may not be genuine interest and care about a person. Some folks probably just follow me because they want to sell me something or I'm following them because they are my fantasy rock star boyfriend (I can't tell you who it is, but his initials are @Dave_Grohl), but because of that connection, the possibility exists for something magical to happen. I might learn something. I might connect with someone. I might give someone a bright idea. I'm not looking to fall in love on Twitter, but I'm not going to rule it out either. Sheesh: it's gotta happen somewhere, doesn't it?

Again with the tangential post. Lo siento. I just want people to realize that yes, sometimes it does take an effort to participate in the communities that make up your life--whether it's online or right outside your door. But it's worth it. Make the effort. Put yourself out there. Put your best self out there. No, no one knows what will come back, but a big fat NOTHING will come back if you don't try. Jump in. The water's fine.

"And...Engage!"