Yesterday during a Coffee Time chat we were discussing what it would take to host a conference. My friend Lisa mentioned in the chat that she may not be able to make it. She said she might be out of spoons by the time the conversation rolled around. I got confused.

Luckily, someone else knew exactly what she was talking about. She posted a link to The Spoon Theory in the conversation chat.

Serendipity!

Even exchanging tidbits here and there can make a whole conversation worth it. We can hear stories we would never have heard before. Make connections that we never knew we could make. The world becomes richer and as a result our lives become more worthwhile. We escape our tiny little bubbles for a moment.

I was so appreciative.

When I finished reading the article, I thought about how hard it is for people to show up to an online conversation. They could be doing so many other things. Especially if they have limitations on the amount of energy they have left to put into it.

This inspires me even more to focus on simplicity. Keeping the mental burden low makes it easy to want to show up for each other.

It also reminds me that when I work on this platform I trade off things. When I spend my spoons to write code outside of my day job I’m deciding not to spend them on time with my husband. Or on my meditation cushion.

Which I guess is why progress is so slow!

But it’s fine! My faraway friends and I are able to have lovely conversations even if the UI isn’t perfect. We can enjoy each others’ company, and learn from each other, even if there is a feature missing here and there. We don’t actually NEED to plan a large scale conference any time soon.

So, I can let myself off the hook of having to solve all the world’s problems today. Sometimes I don’t sleep well or don’t feel like doing anything. Taking care of myself means I’m available for people tomorrow!