My Instagram has become an assortment of virus awareness and transparency pleas, gratitude, spirituality and sports hats. If our social media accounts are made to represent our true authentic selves, I think that this virus quite literally makes mine an extension of my heart. And despite needing (and being fortunate enough to get) tests today, on day 44 of Covid-19 symptoms, I’m not mad about it.
If there’s one thing that I’m hoping that this virus teaches all of humanity (outside of the vital importance of science, health care, data, and unconditional compassion for our entire human species and every living thing on planet Earth) it’s that nothing is more important than being open and transparent. Being honest.
As a collective we’ve become so fixated on how things are to be perceived: how we physically look to others, how our lives look to others, how much more we have than others (money, status, material possessions, followers, and on and on). These things are empty. They may fill certain pockets of your ego but they do not and cannot fill your soul. How rich or beautiful are you *really* if your soul is empty and hidden behind facade after facade of false ideals, trying to placate the perception of the masses but not the deep, soul-filling needs of yourself?
So while times are tough for every single one of us in so many ways, please remember to be kind to yourself by not making it tougher on yourself: there is nothing to hide, there is no reason to fear vulnerability and authenticity, and I can promise that you and by proxy the world will be significantly better for it.
I’m not struggling with this virus and returning to old, insecurity or ego-based habits as I can feel the lesson we’re being taught and I’m not taking it for granted. It’s helping to shed toxic mindsets that are (collectively) as damaging as the virus itself.
So while it’s scary to let your guard down and be authentically you at all times and on all platforms of self-expression, just remember that it’s through that genuine connection that we really become more ‘us’ and therefore more heard, more seen, and more of an actual #influencer in the betterment of this world.