I sometimes struggle to get through the day, and it's not because I am sick or just lazy. I think the root of my struggle is this seemingly simple thought: "What is the purpose in doing __." If I cant find meaning in my actions I become stressed, confused and honestly, extremely sad.
I didn't always used to be so "dramatic," or "existential," as my friends frequently remind me. But, I have begun practicing this new thing, something I like to call "conscious living."
Now more than ever before it seems people are not in alignment with their true selves. We post pictures on social media with captions like "no makeup, no problem," or "the real me" as a means to portray our authentic self to the world. But, posting a "natural" picture of ourselves does not equate to what our everyday reality really is. It is impossible to simplify a human being and all of one's thoughts to a caption that reads, "this is actually who I am!"
Does that mean you are not actually you when you're out with friends and wearing makeup?
How are you possibly living an authentic life when you write an online novel, I mean caption, preaching about body positivity, but ten minutes later still hate on your own shape?
What about the vegan who posts his/her reasoning for practicing veganism is to save the environment, but still wears clothing that exploits the animal kingdom?
And the meditator who just posted a video of him/her doing yoga, but he/she can't be that authentic if in reality they just gave someone the finger for cutting them off while driving!
Or how about the social media influencers who post things like "having a bad day because x, y and z," with a message that says, "see even people like me aren't perfect!" There's still an underlying tone that says "even so I still have it all together."
When posting about our passions and struggles it is impossible to be authentic if we don't address how we are not in alignment with our beliefs.
Being human is acknowledging that you don't have your shit together, and you're probably never going to, but you're sure as hell going to keep trying because that's what life's all about.
When I think about what social media could be I literally get the chills. It would be most incredible invention if human beings authentically connected.
It's 2018. Climate change. Habitat and biodiversity loss. Malnutrition. Lack of clean water/ water scarcity. Honor Killings. HIV and other diseases. Racial inequalities. Opioid epidemic. War. Religious intolerance. Denial of primary education/ low literacy rates.
Those were just a few serious issues/topics I thought of in the past minute that I really wish I could do something to initiate a solution or change...
It's 2018. I have knowledge of the serious problems concerning our world, and chances are if you're reading this you do too. What if we authentically connected on real concerns such as the ones previously mentioned?
We each have a moral duty (one that should not be looked at as an obligation) to help raise our Earth's vibration and energy—like helping people who often because of unfortunate circumstance are unable to access clean water and food.
No one can single handedly solve world poverty, but what if we banded together? Social media makes it extremely easy to connect and learn from one another.
But, who am I to talk? What has the world receive from me? Based off my last few Instagram posts you would know that I am sooo happy finals are done, and that my "Little" is absolutely perfect—pretty insignificant shit in comparison to a global health crisis and global warming.
At the very least, we can all start to make a conscious effort to be authentic in our everyday lives and do our best to reflect those efforts online.
The highlight reels are seriously getting old (I'll be the first to admit mine is the worst). It's time to think big, act bold, and start simple—social media could serve as our new beginning to live with purpose, abundance, and contrary to popular belief consciousness.
