‘The only person qualified to determine your worth is you’.
‘Change often takes time, it rarely happens all at once’.
‘You are never asking for too much when you are asking for what you need’.
As I read these quotes I wonder, can they motivate, inspire, or even change us in any way? Can they alter our mindset or enrich our lives?
Social media is a great platform for these sorts of questions because it seems to have become, not only normal but important to show the world how we live our lives online, through photos, captions, quotes, or stories. We’ve become accustomed to publicly sharing everything about our lives, from fancy dinner parties to where we travel, what we eat, who we hang out with, and how much ‘fun’ our lives are. And yet, is it more important to ‘profile’ ourself, rather than show who we really are?
I‘ve actually noticed a shift in this online behaviour recently, during these complex pandemic times. Since having to stay home and live our lives virtually confined to our window, room, house, garden, or street for weeks on end, it seems as though people are more willing to speak from the heart and show emotion. They seem less preoccupied with posting only beautiful photos or clever quotes and more willing to post real, authentic images of the flowers in their garden, for example, or the interior of their homes, their children at play, or the sweetness of their pets. It’s become more circumspect and less ‘showy’ as though, being forced to slow down has helped us become more mindful about how we live our lives and view the world at large.
It may even lead to the space we all need to create and develop a new mindset, a new mindset where we look around and appreciate how interesting our city, town, and country can be. A mindset that allows us to recognize the importance of family and friends or, in some cases, enjoy the company of certain family members even more – Hallelujah for this..!
Can our (often) rigid mindset change due to these extraordinary circumstances everyone is facing nowadays? I believe it can and I also hope for the better. I hope that these trying times teach us to become more compassionate, resourceful, helpful, and more socially aware, as well as better able to connect with our hearts, souls, and everything around us.
I wonder too if this new mindset will shift us into a more local versus global, and domestic versus nomadic lifestyle – a question that I hope challenges your way of thinking and living, just a little!
I would like to end with a thought of my own – something for us all to think about:
Please reflect on what we take for granted.
Grace Simon Kellerman
