Put On Your Own Oxygen Mask First
On healing and recovery
I wasn't on Twitter when Twitter changed hands. I'm grateful to have missed it.
Other writers on Substack, like Justin E. H. Smith, have decided to step away from Twitter. I think that's a great idea for me. My account is currently deactivated. I will probably log in again, at some point. But when I do, the account will become more of an extension of Cholla Express — whatever that means. Previously, it was an outlet for fragmented thoughts and political missives. There are some really good accounts and some really funny stuff on Twitter. But you have to sort through a lot of garbage to see good stuff on Twitter, and that takes up a lot of emotional time.
My Substack is approaching the same number of followers as my old Twitter account. This is a result of word-of-mouth, direct shares, and the Substack Network. Social media grabs have been the smallest fraction of generated email subscriptions for Cholla Express.
Is Substack a social media platform? I don't know.
People are reading, writing, and interacting here, so … maybe it is.
The difference between Substack and Twitter is that people do more thinking on Substack.
The biggest benefit of Twitter is getting the latest breaking news and information from sources you trust. However, even this benefit is a double-edge sword because everything is blown out of proportion. When everything is a catastrophe, nothing is a catastrophe. And some of the most successful Twitter accounts are some of the most dishonest and the most hysterical.
To each their own. Some people need to use Twitter for professional or other reasons. Some people want/need to get the word out (or set the record straight) to as many people as possible, wherever they are found. Some people find community interacting on Twitter, Facebook and the like.
For me, I see this as an opportunity for peace of mind. I want to unplug from the machine, as much as possible.
I also deactivated Facebook, as I have done frequently in my off-again, on-again relationship with the platform. IMO, it was cooler back before the news feed function, implemented circa 2007. Now, the “feed” is pure algorithm. No thanks. LinkedIn? Deactivated. I kept my Instagram page up, but I don't use it much. If you visit my Insta page you will see a link to Cholla Express. I don't use TikTok at all, and I don't really care to know what's happening there. Ignorance is bliss.
Life is a whirlwind. Removing from my informational diet a few chaotic platforms can only help calm the storm.
Interesting Read
“Basketball's Christian Origins”
An article by pro hoops historian Curtis M. Harris. In this piece from 2020, he interviews historian Paul Putz, who specializes in the intersection of spirituality and sports. The piece includes several pictures of the development of basketball, which Putz argues was created as a means for physical-spiritual training.
Heel Fast
In 2017 I published an e-book about healing from a ruptured Achilles tendon. At the time, I found three things most beneficial to my recovery: mindfulness, gratitude, and support. Sometimes the support came in the form of examples of athletes who had ruptured their Achilles and made a strong recovery. Like Dominique Wilkins.
![Heel Fast: A Journal of Recovery by [Billy Robb]](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F834b5fb1-6ebc-45f9-9fe3-dd2558fbfa8c_314x500.jpeg "Heel Fast: A Journal of Recovery by [Billy Robb]")
The book is short. You could probably read it in one sitting. It's an edited compilation of journal entries written during the eight-month recovery process. The dates aren't evenly separated, especially toward the end, so take note of that, if you decide to read.
The e-book is priced at $2.99, with 70% going to me, and 30% going to Amazon. If you don't have a Kindle device, you can still read it on your web browser or the Kindle Reader app. I think you need an Amazon login to make the purchase.
Final Thoughts
There is one snag to the title of this post, which is generally good advice. Putting on your own oxygen mask is tricky — if you think you're already breathing fresh air. The only possible solution is to surround yourself with folks with the wherewithal to recognize that oxygen is a good thing, if you're not getting enough of it.
As always, thanks for reading and feel free to email me directly @ chollaexpress.substack.com.
To read old issues of Cholla Express, visit the Archive.