Authenticity... and Facebook use as a meditation :) Ommmmm
It's amazing how trends take off. All you need is sustained exposure on Facebook, The Daily Mail, Instagram... a few articles in the Metro... and HEY PRESTO. We have a new craze on our hands.
At the moment we have ISSUES with sugar and we are ALL about being AUTHENTIC!
I see so many posts relating to authenticity - our need to BE OURSELVES and wonder how many people really are themselves? I'm really interested in this as a concept at the minute (you may have noticed!)
Personally speaking, the more I remove myself from social media, from the vanity, comparisons and exposure... the freer I feel.
I LOVE social media, I love the hilarity, the ease of making arrangements, the warmth of feeling connected... but I LOATHE the undercurrent, the voyeurs and the nasty people who lash out/ I became aware of that negativity last year... we can ignore it, rise above it... or REMOVE ourselves from this extra avenue of challenge.
I left Facebook in January after seeing that the LOVELY Greg James was receiving torrents of abuse on Facebook from all the KNOBS online. As a result Radio 1 (usually listen to Radio 2 am struggling with the aging process) are talking about this issue lots this week. They are trying to be positive and COUNTER the malicious insanity that is perpetuated due to the ease of anonymity online.
We all share good times, express grief, reach out for friendship, amuse, rebuke, console and comfort. It's wonderful... BUT, take a month out if you can, delete yourself for a time and try living *ONLY* in the real world for a while.
A detox will enable anyone who spends a little too long online CONVEYING an image to build their IDENTITY and work without external appraisal. It's a form of meditation (a long shot but I'm going with it) it's a stripping away and that's what meditation is. LET GO of your ego, your persona, of all your thoughts and fears... let go of the people you love, let go of your anger... don't worry about anything, live in the moment! Breathe in, breathe out and be alone! Stay in, don't worry about all the party people, don't worry about your image... be yourself, you don't have to D-E-M-O-N-S-T-R-A-T-E who you are, just... BE.
Remember this pic from my meditation retreat? This is what meditation is... let go of all of the above layers and find 'bliss.'
The essence of yoga is to LET IT GO.
You may think that this is an exaggeration, but LOTS of people who spend too much time online... watching, communicating and engaging... looking for some instant gratification. I do it myself! I know how stressful it is to see what you have missed out on and then feel annoyed at yourself for having wasted time. IT FILLS YOUR MIND and you need to have a mind that is FOCUSED on YOUR life and your development.
Try not to WASTE precious time.
The average teenage girl is spending 2 hours a day on facebook!
I feel lucky that when I was 15 we only had MSN messenger! We had the JOY of communication ONE on ONE - we got past the shyness and awkwardness by talking online. I lived in the countryside so couldn't see friends everyday, it was a perfect balance of chatting and convenience. It was PERSONAL, Facebook is much more IMPERSONAL because very few people are willing to present an honest version of themselves publicly.
This is all very ANTI Facebook! However, all I would suggest is if everyone left for a month or so then the madness and the urge to over share would diminish. People would feel more balanced and Facebook could go back to being what it is, a brilliant tool for to maintain connections with amazing people ALL OVER THE WORLD. A portal that enables loving and lasting CONNECTIONS to sustain themselves in a way that is both convenient and fun.
It's magic!
However, for your soul... and peace of mind. Take a break!
There is so much beauty in quiet, brilliant, silence.
It takes more than a day.
