Boost/Gratitude Note/Thoughts
My Mother’s Carpets get Medium Love
And SoulBay Too
S elf-spiel maybe, maybe not, but definitely a Gratitude Note.
To cut the long story short, two of my articles got back-to-back boost last Friday.
Now, you must be wondering why was I sitting on those Boost Mails, but that’s me.
I can wait for things to come and sit on it to spill out only when the time has arrived.
Moreover, I had to finish up with certain commitments before I came back to SoulBay for this year and for a mini celebration.
The little space I have in this Mediumverse in the form of my page/publication Soul-Bay is thanks to the word-of-mouth existence/praise for my work in the past one year.
There is a lot of love that my stories have garnered, often through recommendation algorithm, but mostly shared within and outside the platform by my fellow writer friends and has seen fair and organic engagement and slow but steady growth over time.
Though it may look minimal given the data that circulates here, but I am happy the way my page has shaped up with my original words, thoughts and images.
And this double boost definitely comes as a recognition of my work, being chosen by the internal team of curators, as the two mails suggested.
Since I don’t know how to write a ‘How to…’ article I will try and share my thoughts around this.
The first story to get a Boost is a poem I wrote about treasuring little things in life which go ahead to form good memories, which are often our greatest treasures. I also added a personal story by including my mother’s passion for Fabric Art, which has and will go on to be our priceless heirlooms.
Before moving ahead, I am sparing a thought for all my friends who may/might miss their mothers in some way. She shares her warmth with you all.
Find the poem here:
I am happy that one of my poems got selected which spoke about my mother’s creativity. But a little sad, because I was riding on her passion to snatch my first Boost.
But that changed with the second mail that entered my inbox few hours later.
The second story that was chosen for a Boost was from my publication/page Soul Bay, where I spoke about our need for boundaries to protect our mental health, transgressions, morality and character.
It did come from a true corner conjured up from several incidents from my past.
Find the story here:
These are not popular topics to write on and is not the kind of stories I generally write about in such strong, straight and open ways.
One story I wrote, pressed published to flush out some toxin and wanted to forget about — but that did not happen.
It got picked up by the curation team straight from my page for a larger audience to consume.
This is where I wish to highlight what Coach Tony Tony Stubblebine emphasised on, in his article on Boost:
“Often, the best writing comes from people who don’t want to be audience builders. With the rise of the creator economy, these doers are often left out. Our goal is to find the best individual stories, regardless of who wrote them, and give those stories a wider audience.” — Tony Stubblebine, A-new-boost-for-top-stories,
Here, I would like to reiterate that I quit writing for Top Publications (where I am a writer for all of them and all the editors are still good friends) quite early into my Medium days, to chart my own path, to test my own mettle as a writer and find out if I can defy odds and make just quality ( to the best of my ability) my yard stick.
My story being nominated for a boost from Soul Bay, not only comes as a boost to my confidence for the path I took, but also as a recognition for the kind(quality) of work I tried to bring into my writing fold, in my small ways.
This may be one-off, but it has happened now and goes into my journaling as a moment to savour in my writing journey.
And when you write something you don’t want much people to read, yet they do because this becomes some kind of a yard stick and probably tick all the right boxes what do you do….?!
You learn your lesson and write a gratitude note!
So, a Huge Thank You to all my friends, writers, readers who helped me build Soul Bay and believed in my ways and abilities.
A note of gratitude to Medium/ Medium Staff, Curation Team, for finding my stories!
Thank you Liz for the mails which made my week :)
In Conclusion:
Do I try and write stories like this in the hope of getting boosted….of course not.
But neither will I stop myself from writing one when such occasion will arise.
Though this gives me a definite high, I would love to stick to my ways of creation — walking the clouds, dwelling in my world of imagination and work to create this alternate world for you and me to go and live when reality bites.
The self doubts are much quelled which creates wonderful space for further creation.
It is important to be a ‘giver’ but equally important to grow a firm spine** and protect your mental health and well being.
You may jettison the idea of self-love as selfish, but don’t allow anyone to tell you, that you don’t deserve a good day because you refused to serve their purpose.
It is not possible to keep pouring from an empty vessel, can you ?!
I know I often come as naive, & undiplomatically honest for the current world setup, but by being that, I am always me, and will never apologise for being who I am.
Maybe that’s what the world needs to listen.
Hoping this finds you all in right health and spirit, I sign a goodbye.
Till we talk again,
Love Always,
— Monoreena
