Lesson Learned - The "Likes"

 

This is a lesson that I just learned. 

This morning began like so many mornings: wake up, play with the dog, look at the games on my phone, make tea, talk with my boyfriend, scroll through social media. Every time that I look at Instagram on my phone, I flick the screen with my thumb and give out likes to posts that appeal to me or have a pleasing/funny/insightful aesthetic. Once I've exhausted the list, I get dressed and jump-start into the day. However, by the time I "liked" my third post, I stopped and looked up from my phone. Something had dawned on me that I wasn't proud of and I had no idea that I had done it for so long. I liked posts without even looking at them. I didn't give the post more than five seconds of my attention before I went to the next one. I've been working on my mindfulness/meditation practices lately and the difference has been quietly astounding. I allowed my mind to settle before I looked at what I was doing. Millions of people use social media, yet how many of us actually go deeper than the surface picture presented on our screens? I'm ashamed to admit that there are few posts where I actively engage in the post; that is, I don't read the article, check out the website, or listen to the song that was just released. I then began to wonder: what else have I been missing? What else am I not connecting with? I put my phone down, took a deep breath, and decided that I would engage more on social media, rather than just waltz through posts with my big bag of LIKES. So, I listened to the new song by the cool singer-songwriter; I looked up the recommended books and added them to my library TBR lists; I commented on the poetry presented by the quiet and thoughtful human being. I also reached out to a small business owner just to say - hey there, how are you doing? After engaging in social media on a deeper level, I felt refreshed, not exhausted, and glad that I took the time to engage beyond the surface. I wanted them to know that yes, I see you and your work. Yes, I love it and YES, I want to do more than just give you a thumbs up and move on. Thank you for sharing yourself. Thank YOU.

Lesson Learned. 

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