It is all about perception…

Recently, I have been a part of a movement to get Cuties minds off the “closed for maintenance” DBC and get them stitching and participating in other ways here at Cute. It seems some may have misconstrued the intentions we all had – which was encouraging our hobby – embroidery stitching.
Some erroneously feel they are being called out for implied or supposed “wrongs” here. There are well over 9000 unique IP addresses (users) every single day that visit this site. That essentially means that there are nearly 9000 freebie hunters that may never type so much as a “thanks” on any page. They are welcome here just as the ones that post daily are welcome. This site thrives because of the many different ways it can benefit each user.
As has been the case since I joined this site many years ago, Cuties try to help other Cuties find their way around. All of the Cuties, that post regularly, try to help correct misconceptions and guide new users to answers.
On a recent occasion, a Cutie was very confused about the benefits of a Paid Membership here. Many tried (and I think we may have failed) to help the Cutie understand. While it can be very frustrating when communications fail -- not one person posted with malice. Each person had the best interests of Cute and all the users at heart. It was not received that way.
Some Cuties have mistaken comments for criticisms. I can tell you from the Moderators – we are not criticizing in our posts. Our desire as a Moderating team is to regain and then maintain the peace and comfort this site brings to the lives of many. We all work very hard to achieve this every single day. If any of you perceive otherwise – you are sadly, mistaken. It is actually heartbreaking to me that people would believe the worst of other Cuties (it seems) all the time.
I only became a Moderator because I love this place and all my Cute friends. I really wanted this site to return to a place of kindness and love. I still want that. I believe we can achieve that too. It will take each of us changing our perceptions at times.
We must all learn to take the written message and add the love we would hope it would include. Often, it does include that love and perhaps more. I am sure there are times that some people mean to offend. Perhaps they are having a bad day. Maybe they are plagued with health issues. It is possible that they are so totally alone in this world that sadness envelops them. Regardless of their issues -- my hope is that we all learn to ignore the intended insults and delight in the love.
One of my favorite things to do here is give flowers. I love it! You don’t have to give flowers to me or anyone else – I will still give them to you. I feel good inside giving something as simple as a virtual flower to another person. Often, I look at it as a secret gift. It is so much more fun that way! I have a euphoric hope that it might just brighten someone’s day.
That said, we often use a zero flower count as a way to tell if the Cutie is new and may need help. There are many Cuties that have more flowers than I do – simply because I used to just read and add flowers – never posting. I did that for years. I would not call someone out on that – ever.
I want to apologize to any Cutie that has ever felt hurt by me. It was not my intent. It can be so very hard to post and do it in such a way as to make it easy to translate and easy to understand. As a Moderator I have had to learn to do just that. Sometimes that leaves room for misinterpretation with meaning or intent. It is an error of perception to think I am intending to cause hurt feelings – I am not.
Each day I try to look at the progress we have made to help this site become a place of peace and love. Cuties across the world help each and every day to add to the love. I have optimistic hope that the love will always overshadow the hurt. I have new hope each day that Cuties who once felt too afraid to “speak” will join in with us.
I do dream of days where there are more Projects posted than Freebie links….not because Freebies are bad but because Projects inspire me and showcase the talents of so many users here. So, if you ever see me “begging” for you to post in Projects – do not despair! It is because I delight in seeing new creativity and the lovely display of our shared hobby.
Thanks for reading this (too long to read) post.
Hugs to you all!