Do You Need A Social Media Svasana?
Some days, perhaps even today, we may feel our lives are not exactly as we would wish them to be - and we can often rely on social media to make us feel worse.
Our inboxes and social media feeds are full of images of places we’ll never visit, bodies we’ll never have, objects we’ll never own and experiences we will never share - sleek sunlit yachts, six pack abs, smiling selfies taken in front of the Sydney Opera House or the Great Wall of China. Scrolling through them is a form of torture. We tell ourselves that if we possessed a little of this glamour, adventure and luxury then we would be happier.
Our suffering is not only self imposed and needless, but also based on a fundamental misconception of what makes for a fulfilling life. Much of what makes life wonderful and worth living is neither expensive nor exclusive. On the contrary, our lives are full of a wealth of ordinary pleasures that lie close at hand, costing little effort, available for (often) almost nothing: cut grass between bare toes; freshly laundered sheets on your bed; the soft stroke-able fur of your favourite pet; a cold beer on a hot day.
Our problem is not one of means, but of perspective: we rarely stop to focus on the pleasures that we already have available to us.
The secret to a happy fulfilled life is to focus more on what we do have and less on what we don’t. Giving ourselves the time and space to appreciate the small things that matter.
So do yourself a favour, go to your Instagram account (or whatever your social media kryptonite happens to be) and have a cull. Get rid of anything that makes you feel ‘less than’ and replace it with things that inspire and motivate you. Better still, take the app off your phone completely. I’m pretty good at drawing social media boundaries for myself but every now and again I need to take a complete Instagram svasana - and it feels good.
You have the choice to use technology or not, and it’s fine either way. You may find you have more time in your day. You may find that social media brings you some truly positive things and you miss it - I find a lot of spiritual inspiration on Instagram, but I know I need to be careful when the fashion influencers start to creep in. When we use social media for inspiration, motivation, change, activism and awareness it is a truly wonderful tool. Commit to being intentional about finding the good stuff and culling the negative influences on your life.
Is social media making you feel bad or taking up too much time? Do you find yourself mindlessly scrolling, sometimes without even realising? Maybe it’s time to take a social media svasana for a a day, a weekend or a month. See what unplugging feels like and bring a little more intention to your day.