I had a revelatory experience that I alluded to in my Dreaming Too Small post from a few weeks ago.
I’ve been seriously limiting social media and consumption of content for a while now. I talk about it here and on the Holy Health Podcast often. It’s always a dang struggle to not succumb to the temptation of the phone but it’s always so worth it.
In case you missed it, I have been using the Opal app to limit social media consumption. It’s been so helpful for me. So helpful! I actually stay off of my phone before 11am and after 7pm. Game changer!! I am reading and writing and doing yoga so. much. more.
And it feels really good.
Back in the day, like almost everyone else, I didn’t have a laptop or a cellphone. This was around 8th-10th grade. The internet was the new shiny thing and to be on it you had to sit down at the home computer and be there while you browsed.
There was no laying in bed perusing the internet. No one was at the dinner table watching a Reel. Magazines were a staple for bathrooms (which is kind of weird, but whatever) and waiting rooms and no one was updating their Facebook status to let their “friends” know about the fact that they were currently at the dentist.
Obviously, things have changed and now I don’t even own a computer that isn’t a laptop anymore. Everything is so much more accessible. Always accessible in this instant. I can order my groceries in bed! Or FaceTime with a friend from across the country while making dinner. So many cool and amazing things have resulted in the technological advancements of the past 20 years but with all of the good that has come of it, some bad has to come too.
Polarity has to exist to create the balance and flow of the universe.
Good. Bad.
Right. Wrong.
Intuition. Logic.
Science. Spirituality.
Active. Resting.
Night. Day.
Empty. Full.
It all exists and will continue to exist. So when the exciting and helpful aspects of technology roll into our lives, we have to expect the not so good facets too.
The thing is that I don’t think we saw a lot of these negative technologically attached things coming. Okay, maybe there were some expectations of negative implications but overall, I think most of us were too distracted being in it to really be able to step outside of it so that we could proceed with caution.
Thankfully, it’s not too late to take control back. I’m not really looking to throw social media away completely (no thanks to extremism) but I am striving to be a healthy and mindful consumer of it. I want to control my use of technology after years of technology controlling me.
Which leads me back to my revelatory experience.
It’s a random Monday. Literally nothing special is happening. I write, do yoga, eat, log into work, log out of work, and then at 1pm I take a walk.
These daily walks have been revolutionary for me. I’ve been walking daily for years but since committing to at least 45 minutes of walking every single day, things have shifted. Well, you can add in my perfect timing of technology boundaries to the mix to create the perfect scenario for this. Less scrolling + more clarity in mind = the shift. After all, it is very rarely just one thing that changes everything.
Speaking of changing everything, on this walk that’s exactly what happened.
Everything changed.
And at the same time, nothing changed at all.
While walking I think about everything and nothing. Whatever comes up is where I let my mind wander and sometimes I land on a goldmine and other times I’m just pulling up weeds.
This random Monday I strike gold.
I realize that not only was I not dreaming big enough, but I was focused on the wrong dreams. I was dreaming too small. And then, just like that, I knew what my DREAMS and GOALS were. The big ones. The bold ones. Dreams and goals that are scary and seemingly close to impossible. Those ones. I understood what they were, a straight download from God. It was one of those moments that people talk about or you see in the movies but have never had happen to you even after years of praying for it.
It happened!!
When I least expected it, BOOM.
That’s always how it goes, isn’t it?
I have decided to pursue writing in a big way. I am going after it in a way that seems unattainable even though I know that I can get there. I know that I will get there. I don’t know the path. I don’t know what it takes to go from the idea in my mind to the end GOAL but I am seeing that as a good thing. I am letting my clarity guide me and the creative downloads lead the way.
I am fiercely protecting my creative space and prioritizing this project in a new way.
Life is happening to us and for us in every moment. The question that I keep coming back to is, “am I paying attention?”
Do I approach my experiences with a mild sense of curiosity, even in the mundane moments? Am I open to seeing things differently? How can I use this experience to best serve me?
It’s awfully hard to pay attention when the grocery store checkout line is full of heads down and phones out.
Distraction is everywhere. It can be hard to tune out and choose when to consume in those ways. But it’s possible and it’s worth it.
For me, it all came back to listening to myself. Recognizing that I was feeling the call to stop consuming so much and ignoring it. Once I began to listen and do so consistently, the shift happened.
Our intuition leads the way. The messages and ideas are always floating around us.
Are you listening?
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Keep practicing ❤️