10.18.2013

let's talk about that ego

If you keep in tune with the blogging world (and sometimes I can hardly believe that that's actually a thing now), you might know about an interview Martha Stewart did this week. Here's what she said: 

Who are these bloggers? They're not trained editors at Vogue magazine. I mean there are bloggers writing recipes that aren't tested, that aren't necessarily very good, or are copies of everything that really good editors have created and done. So bloggers create a kind of popularity, but they are not the experts. And we have to understand that.

Huh. I have several thoughts about this statement (as do so. many. bloggers. obviously). What really stuck out to me about this, however, is not the content but the character. Martha Stewart is not gracious. Sure, she's talented in a superhuman crafty kind of way, but gracious? Nope.

Gracious people give credit where credit is due. They know that being good at something doesn't mean that someone else can't be good at that same something. Gracious living can't expend energy on selfishly building egos. Gracious people don't want to waste their time on that. So they don't. Gracious living is doling out praise where it's deserved, even if it's not to an "expert." We should be eager to uplift others and give deserved compliments. Isn't it wonderful that this world is full of talented people? We should be celebrating that instead of discrediting the non-Marthas. 

PS Did you know that there is a made-for-TV biopic about Martha Stewart that was produced during her time in prison? Every single time I think of Martha, I think of this clip.

This post is part of a 31-day series on gracious living. You can find the other posts here.

1 comment:

Ande said...

I agree that Martha is not very gracious, but I do appreciate that she made homemaking an art when so many women were turning to the work force. That being said, Martha wasn't an expert when she started and it's a pity she is bashing the very women who have supported her for years and years. That being said, I think she has a point in her argument that people are taking other's recipes and tutorials and posting them as their own--how many tissue paper pom pom tutorials out there, and those started out as Martha's. And how many times have you seen a recipe that is really Ina Garten's?--which is wrong. But I don't think being harsh to others trying to better their homes right either. The end.

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