Sit down–let’s have a drink and a moment to talk. As we all know, 2020 has been a rough year so far. We’ve seen the Australian bushfires, a global pandemic, a stock market crash, lockdowns and stay-at-home orders, the tragic death of Kobe Bryant (his daughter, and others on the helicopter), the death of an innocent man by a corrupt cop, the George Floyd protests and riots, social unrest, attacks on communities and cultures…..and it’s only June. Freaking June, y’all. *Note–I’m sure I left out a few things–but it’s just too much to keep up with these days.

The state of the world has been troublesome, and it weighs heavy on my heart. Animals dying, people losing their homes, more people dying, confusing information, people losing their jobs, conflicting information, even more people dying, people trying to speak their minds, people being scared, people yelling for justice in every direction for every cause….*deep breath*

“With all the risk and danger television sprays at us each day like tear gas, it occurs to me they should simply open each evening’s show by saying, “Welcome to the Channel Two News; we’re very surprised you made it through another day.”

Thom Rutledge

All of the negative information and constant connection to every event happening have left me…overwhelmed…speechless…and heartbroken. I found myself in this depressive state because I was unable to help or solve the world’s problems. I was frustrated reading the hurtful things people were saying amidst social unrest. I was angry because I felt manipulated by the media. I was sad that this is what the world has come to…. So, I logged off of Facebook and Instagram and deleted my apps. I didn’t feel that my opinions were going to solve any issues or create clarity on the current (and ongoing) complicated issues.

“It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to talk and remove all doubt.”

Mark Twain

My time away from social media helped me to truly listen, truly understand, truly speak, and truly educate myself on everything going on in the world right now.

And here’s what I’ve learned from my 2 week detox and disconnection.

THE LUXURY OF OPINION

The ability to share and express our opinions freely and constantly is a luxury. And social media gives us the access and freedom to say whatever we want, whenever we want, about whatever we want–ie: the luxury of opinion.

During my detox, I realized more than ever how important it is to not use social media to “yell” at people and rudely tell them their opinions are wrong because we are all entitled to our own beliefs…whether we agree with each other’s or not. However, if we see something unethical or unjust and we cannot resist commenting on those things, we should approach those unethical and unjust posts with factual information, positive news, or a thoughtful comment that says you disagree + here’s why. *

Note: We should NOT engage in arguments with people who only want to be right or with people who threaten harm. Leave the comment section and find someone reasonable to chat with!!

Having the freedom of speech /luxury of opinion is so important, so we must respect how and when we use it. 💪

THE FORCE OF PAIN

Emotional pain is an unbelievable force. It can easily manifest itself into something uncontrollable–if one doesn’t recognize it’s building inside and learn how to harness that force and use it for something good–instead of something bad.

It’s important that we as individuals step away from social media and media hype to better understand our own force of pain. What makes us hurt? Why does it make us hurt? How can we use that pain to change, adapt and evolve? Once we know how our own pain affects us, we can then take on the pain of others–joining in on their causes and peaceful expressions.

As we’ve seen in the past few weeks, the force of pain can inspire so many people to come together and evoke worldwide change. So, let’s use the force of pain for good things ✌🏿✌🏾✌🏽✌🏼✌🏻❤️🧡💛💚💙💜

THE POWER OF HOPE

When we are put in uncomfortable, depressing or negative situations, it is so easy to lose site of the big picture. It’s so easy to give up, get angry and forget how beautiful and amazing life really can be. So much of what we see in our social media feeds do little to inspire hope. (That’s why I suggest either a detox from it or unfollowing toxic people/accounts.)

Today more than ever, it’s important for us to grow and tend to our own power of hope. Much like taking care of our house plants, we must also take care of our inner hope in order to harness the power (and beauty) of it. Rather than living life with the attitude of “oh great, today sucks. The world sucks. 2020 sucks,” we must embrace our power of hope. This attitude change can lead us to a new and positive mindset.

To help us all with creating a new and positive mindset, let’s focus on the mantra “happy thoughts, happy life” so we can start building up the power of hope ✨

*Note: When we have the right mindset and we have hope, we are better able to help and support causes we believe in because we have the energy and power we need to fight the good fight.