Why do we watch other people live their lives instead of our own?
Notice how when we want to experience something all we have to do is look on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube to see someone else doing it. Want to go to Paris? Look up on YouTube and live vicariously through someone posting their trip. This goes with many other moments in life as well. Watch someone cook, garden, go to the mall, etc. It even comes down to basic life.
What this does is instead of living our own lives we just look at others “living” their highlight reel and then we compare ourselves as to why we aren’t as successful. Strangely, we know what a stranger is doing almost every single day because they lost their lives. It’s like people do not value privacy anymore.
I feel like ever since the pandemic we have stayed more at home and sat on our phones while literally watching people live instead of living ourselves. This isn’t talked about as much. I believe the pandemic did a number on our mental health and we won’t see the negative effects until later down the line when it’s too late to change. I can understand why people aren’t going on trips and going out every day because the rate of inflation and cost of living is basically forcing us to only afford to work and scroll on our phones. But what does this say about our society and why is this the case? We cannot be complacent in believing that life should feel like this.
We live on a floating rock in the universe and play the game of Monopoly with fake money. This wasn’t the case in the past when people actually “lived”. And it is not our fault because we are doing everything right by paying bills/taxes, going to work, etc. But I refuse to believe that this is the way life should be. We don’t have a community anymore, if you want to talk to someone you text or DM. We don’t even know our neighbors.
Everyone is so isolated, unhappy, and anxious. Regardless of how we as humans evolved we still have the brain from the caveman which was founded on community. We do not talk to each other, are addicted to our phones, praise toxic behaviors, do not respect one another, and work soul-crushing jobs to pay the bills we are struggling to pay with the rate of inflation then look for dopamine releases that we end up getting addicted to instead of healing our traumas and sitting with ourselves. And YET we wonder why we are miserable. We live in a society where big corporations are benefiting from our traumas and exploiting them and do not care about their people.
This all sounds really negative and cynical, right?
But the crazy thing about it all is we have choices. We have the immense power to change our lives and once you make those first steps people in your life will see the changes and it will create a domino effect. We are not told about our power as human beings and the amazing capacity we can achieve if we just tell ourselves we can. We are powerful in numbers, in community, and in our essence. We are spiritual beings who CHOSE to come here and live out physical experiences. So we knew what we would have to overcome. And if we truly did not believe that we couldn’t we would not be here. Think of all that you have overcome in your life. Do not give your power away to negative people, negative news, or mainstream media. They all want to take your power away and we let them. Our power is the best thing we have.
Stop telling yourself the world is just how it is, nothing is going to change and you are wasting away because there’s nothing you can do. Your thoughts create your reality and you’re telling yourself a story that doesn’t have to be true. Because regardless of the world and how it is, not everyone on this planet is miserable and unhappy. Some people are THRIVING and love their lives. Don’t let your conditioning and trauma dictate your happiness. Everyone has a choice to either be a victim of their trauma or take it to become unstoppable. So what will you choose? Only you have the power to do so.
Here are some small steps you can take to make an impactful difference if you keep doing them:
1. Don’t check your phone as soon as you wake up
2. Mediate more (sit with yourself)
3. Go outside and start a conversation with a stranger
4. Call or check up on a friend or family member
5. Journal
6. Write down what your dream life would be
7. Set limits for social media
8. Stop watching the NEWS and negative media
9. Start a book
10. Evaluate your relationships in your life( how do you feel whenever you talk to certain people. Are they bringing you down? )
11. Ask yourself what you truly want out of life