Today we discussed vulnerability and how it relates to social media. We have expanded our reach around the world through our internet connections. There are so many great life hacks, connections, ideas, and dreams that can be shared. People have the ability to create an income from their phone. We have access to apps that make our businesses run smoother and organize our lives. We can talk into a speaker and ask for a playlist, or recipe or ask for the weather in Iceland. While this is exciting and helpful and evolving daily, there are major pitfalls that we have to allow for. When do our children get to have access? How do we use this space consciously? What do we do about online bullies and trolls?
We shared our personal experience with the dark side of the internet during Pauls search. When someone you love disappears, time literally becomes a vortex. When eating hurt and sleep was haunted, we relied on the skills of a community to come together and organize our efforts to find Paul. We had never done this before, so we learned the pitfalls as we went. With such a buzz moving like lightning speed through the social media networks, we had so many kind souls show up and serve. But we were also schooled by the bullies and trolls who in many cases make a living from the dark side. When we caught up and realized that we were under attack by haters, the damage had been done. The kind of vulnerability that was asked of our family, and specifically Ashlee, was raw and not what we think of when discussing this topic. Our emotions switched to the place of survival during these horrible moments.
We had a Christian Ministry come to our aid, offering their expertise in the search as well as directing us as we navigated the online nightmare. As a momma bear, my instinct was to lash out and string together words that would cut like a knife. But our sweet friends taught us the most important lesson. Silence is how you maintain your power. The best response was none at all. Deleting negativity is ok. You don’t allow trolls into your home, they don’t get to live in your feed either. Engaging with the dark side gives it fuel to keep burning. And we knew that those who honestly knew our families would NEVER say the things that were being reported. We also learned that sharing every single detail with the whole world is not appropriate or necessary. If you ever find yourself being asked to serve another, the purest form of that service comes with no strings attached. Our genuinely intimate fears and stories should be reserved for those that we trust, who show up in our life with balm for our broken hearts and are willing to just sit in the dark with us.
We talked about the comparison on social media. Its human nature to do it, but catching yourself and finding your own voice, will tame that daemon. We all have dreams, hopes, and desires. When you compare yourself to someone else idea, you lose sight of your superpowers and genius. We were not meant to all be the same. How boring would life be if we were? Every soul has the capacity to dream something unique to them. That’s what we want to be sharing and daring to do. What do you think about, love, what are you attracted to? Use others platforms for inspiration, but create your own unique place in the world. We share this planet with 7.8 BILLION people. There is so much diversity in those numbers, lets each find how we uniquely contribute and dream our own little patch of real-estate into being.
We talked about courage. Stepping into vulnerability requires it. We try to remind ourselves that if we’re moving towards a dream and feel like saying NO because of anxiety and the need to vomit. That Is our bat signal telling us that we HAVE to say YES! It’s courage asking us to rise above the fear and step into the unknown.
Our challenge this week is to step outside of the box or walls that keep you safe. Share something with someone who you trust. Something you’ve buried that needs to breathe.
Or take a step towards realizing your dreams. We are doing that right now with this podcast. Its brand new, and we launched before we had all of the perfect web pages and links ready. Ask for forgiveness, or give someone a compliment.
Thanks for tuning In. And remember Inspired people Inspire people.