my intention for march: trust

I have a hard time trusting people I don't know.

and that includes everyone on social media.

...Everyone except people I know or who I've met.
Is this a problem?

No.

...Except that I expect everyone on social media to trust me.

Here I'm making a hydrosol. I'm cooking herbs in water and gathering the condensation. the ice on the pot lid cools it, so that steam becomes water. This water is full of the goodness from the plants which gave up their water-soluble constituents through the simmering process. 

I love making hydrosols. 
The hum of my cooker and the aroma of the herbs just fills my sanctuary and I sew.
​I am at peace.

In their book, "Trust Agents | Using the Web to Build Influence, Improve Reputation, and Earn Trust" (2010), authors Chris Brogan and Julien Smith try very hard to get me to break down the wall between my sanctuary and all those not known people beyond.
They speak to me about establishing my authority. I discovered how to infuse fabric with herbs. I've learned a lot in my explorations that I could share. They talk about being helpful and reliable, about committing to regular speaking and listening, about maintaining my audience. I'm a doer, not a talker. But I am reliable. They mention community. I would like that, I think.
"It's a slow roast, not a TV dinner.", they say. (pg 212)

Why hydrosols? What are they and can they be helpful?
In her book "Hydrosols | The Next Aromatherapy" (2001), Canadian Suzanne Catty outlines what is and what isn't aromatherapy. "Aromatherapy products are not made in a plant (factory), but in a plant (living, growing, green thing)" (pg 2). I love this. Aromatherapy and essential oils are big business. Is what we are giving our nose to smell good for us? This is yet another trust topic. Catty claims that most products marketed as aromatherapy are merely perfumes, and have never even seen a plant (living, growing green thing). Smells can be produced synthetically, and at present there are not many controls over what synthetics are used, and if any natural ingredients are included at all.

I bottle the hydrosol I make, after blending it with other hydrosols to achieve something healthy and intended to affect the body according to the name of the garment. There is nothing else in the bottle except for hydrosols. Again, trust.
You can use the spray on anything, but its main purpose is to re-infuse the clothing with the herbs. Catty suggests that hydrosols are as therapeutic as essential oils (the oil constituents of the plant). Like the seed, hydrosols are holograms of the plant, where "every tiny part contains all the information of the whole". What I draw out of the plant is what was in the cells of the plant itself. Many people who visit my booth tell me that they can feel the energy of the clothing. It is almost alive. When this water essence is put next to our skin, and absorbed or breathed in, it just may blend with the natural chaos of our bodies. Who knows?
Trust. 
"In the use of plant essences we evoke the earth's healing forces." (Catty, pg 22)

I have survived social media evils already, and am a little less scared of them. 

Can I improve myself by using social media?

Is that really a possibility?

It will help be become even more knowledgeable about my subject matter.
It may empower me to think of myself as "with it" ;)
It may keep me organized. And give me patience.
It may help me learn to be more social …. and human.

I intend to be more trusting of everyone.