Tuesday, February 8, 2011

All About The Fun House

There is a spirit, an attitude that exists in most all of us. It is a negative, angry, pissed off attitude and we are given the choice as to what to do with it MANY times a day. We can indulge it and explode on what or whomever is near, we can blanket it and just be a little grouchy, we can squash it and try to bring forth patience, grace and positivity, oh there are so many ways to treat this little devil that sneaks up ever so often. The entire spirit, purpose and goal of The Fibromyalgia Fun House on Facebook is to serve as the support site for members of a Fibromyalgia awareness campaign seeking to unite the patient body into an awareness movement. A patient body that is currently so embittered and angry, they cannot even come together to fight the illness, fight the doubting doctors and an apathetic representation in government. They are so busy pushing their point of view in a demeaning fashion amongst themselves, they will never get together and affect change! In the 6 months I have been doing this I am amazed at the number of people that have turned up rude, nasty, bossy, judgmental, negative or angry, to name but a few undesirables. Some have stayed with us and gotten with the program, recognizing there is still a life to be lived and enjoyed under all that Fibro. Others have left, this clearly not being the place for them.

I learned a lot when I was a retail manager and executive. Managing adults requires an entirely different set of characteristics than say, teaching youth. Adults do not take kindly to being told what to do in a forceful or bossy way. They are especially sensitive to direct criticism and judgment and are not just going to take what they are told as truth, if it seems questionable to them. I made plenty of mistakes and quickly learned success was found in getting people to want to work for you, not work for you because they have to. That was accomplished with a genuine mutual respect and a good natured, light-hearted rapport and working environment. I expect nothing less from the Fun House. 

We come here because we want to. We read posts and comments and try to get to know each other. We post and comment ourselves as a way to share and open up. Yes there is complaining, but we try our darnedest to cheer that person up, give them a laugh or a smile, a bit of strength, some compassion and understanding from our own experiences. Pollyanna does not play at the Fun House. No pretending perfect. But kindness and respect in dealing with each other, positive support and gentle suggestions or tales of experience warmly told, that is what is expected. Yes, everyone has a bad day every so often and has to apologize for their behavior. But the majority of the time The Fibromyalgia Fun House is compassionate, caring, empathetic, silly, funny or a just plain goofy place to hang out

Thanks for joining,
Leah

P.S. Please "Follow" Chronicles Of Fibromyalgia on Networked Blogs on Facebook (link from my badge on the right). Thanks!.

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