PrettyThin

I'm not Christian, and am as much a cynic and critic as anyone. But to all - celebrating or not - I wish you all a very merry Christmas, and closing of another year. Happy holidays, whatever you may (or may not) celebrate. In spirit I am thinking of all of you, and know that each member is thinking about the others. I hope that you're with those you love, and that this coming year will bring you closer to love and joy.

Merry Christmas PrettyThin. Wherever you may be and whatever you may be doing, you're not alone, and you are loved. Stay beautiful, just as you are.

The PrettyThin Family

I can't say that it's gone smoothly. Time is a bandit, and at the same time a commodity that seems to be in short supply.

This image uses ThingLink. Learn more »

Originally Thinglinked @ prettythin.com

Share Image...

Embed Image...

Do more....that's my constant whisper. Many of you have your own. Mine nags me, and I often seek ways to eliminate the anxiety that comes with feeling I'm not doing enough, or well enough.

I recently talked to a friend who's anxieties are similar to my own. And though we have this in common, it does take a different form for each of us, caused by different triggers, and manifested in very different ways. 

Control. That's one of the ways we each try to manage the constant flow of things do be done and things to be achieved; and we both realize there are other ways to manage it all.

Realize....we even talk about it. But after we're off the phone or leave the cafe, much of it is forgotten. Alone with my own thoughts, they don't shift toward comfort, but rather toward this tide of things to do. 

Often I realize that life is not about the quantity. And though I take comfort in thinking that it's about quality, I'm not even sure it's about that. Maybe it's just about being; neither quantity or quality but mere presence. And from that presence, whatever may arise; neither good or bad or beautiful or ugly - just thus.

Last night some friends and I opened up more bottles of vodka than we needed and started playing games. While playing a trivia game I was surprised when some people didn't know the answer to some (I thought) common knowledge. They're not stupid, nor were they (yet) drunk. And as my thoughts wandered I realized that the surprise was not in that they didn't know things I thought they should know, but that some Great Things, some amazing achievements or people or places in the experience of humankind were unknown by many. How many things of greatness was I completely oblivious to? And then I thought....why do we try so hard to be great?

For others? For ourselves? 

My anxiety seems to come from a little of both. But how is it that I would allow myself to grow anxious? To struggle with the moments of my life? And for me, it's because I don't simply let it be. 

We all have one life to live - how we live it can't really be quantified or qualified, and even if it can, does it matter to anyone buy ourselves? Do we wish to be remembered in the coarse of human history? Why? Or do we simply hope to find happiness for ourselves.

Happiness. It's often mistaken for achievement or some form that we feel it should take. But it doesn't seem to be any of those things. It's just what it is; and such is life. A stream, a flow, a presence that is uncontrollable....and at the end, it is thus.

These are just ramblings. Share yours here.

It's been really neat seeing so many ED Awareness Ribbons all over Facebook. We're halfway through and I now understand why organizations have administration people doing things - for my part, I apologize for not updating the site as often as desired. For those who sent content, it will appear soon.

(&^%&^%!!!!!.....great. The stuff I wrote not only didn't get published but also disappeared. Writing it again...sorta)...everything below is a rewrite.

I am sitting in a cafe that currently my office and thinking of the things I plan on doing in the new year. Professionally, personally (mind and body), artsy fartsy (hopefully take it beyond just doodling about), and PT. Things are always changing, but what are some things you would like to see from PrettyThin in the coming year? I know that some would like a better mobile application, which is on the list, but I'm sure you have other ideas. A lot of you have also written me about the mentor concept, and that will be rolled out on January 1 :-)

I had a couple images I had pasted here which I have to admit I don't have the time to go find again, and there was some rambling about the meaning of life, but the error may have been a blessing.

Stay Beautiful, just as you are,
James

The homepage changes quite often here, and since we use the blog for members to post stories, poems, thoughts, and journal entries, that kind of format can't really be used on PT. Here are some things you might be looking for:

Last Month's Homepage - This was the page we launched to kick off Eating Disorder Awareness Month for 2011. It shows you what traffic on PrettyThin looks like, and links to a few resources as well.

PrettyThin on Tumblr - yes, there is one. Not many people seemed to care about it until fairly recently, so I'm going to actually start using it. Not sure how it all fits into what PT is all about, but whatever...we have one. Help figure out what it's meant to be...

Who's Online on PrettyThin? - see who's logged on, and what your profile looks like to others.

FAQs - everything from deleting your site to the other questions people seem to ask often.