Scrolling on Instagram and TikTok and flipping between apps in hopes to find something intriguing didn’t provide me with the same dopamine hit like before. I knew that I wouldn’t get the satisfaction I was looking for in my phone at all.
Suddenly, something clicked within me that the second I threw my phone aside. I returned back to the movie of my own life that still was playing even when I was scrolling. The presence of this very moment was a scene in my own movie that I was overlooking constantly by being on my phone. I have every second of the day given to me to make the most of every moment. I felt an overwhelming sense of regret for ignoring this blissful blessing, even if it was just for a few minutes. Of course I couldn’t find lasting happiness in a flat screen surface or highly-calculated apps designed for addiction. My life was happening right here and now whether I wanted it or not.
This was the very normal, human life where I can hear the shuffle of my pants when I walk, the children playing outside the house, a drilling sounds of a distant construction site, my mother calling me downstairs for dinner for the second time, my disheveled hair after laying in my bed for hours, and the ticking of the 11-year old clock in the living room.
It wasn’t the hyper-glamorized luxury aesthetic that proliferates my Pinterest feed that boasts about million-dollar yachts, expensive travels, shining jewelry, or luxe hotels. It wasn’t the aesthetic travel lifestyle that advertises Bora Bora and Dubai like it’s my life’s ultimatum.
Instead, it was the shining sun that poured over every bright green leaf on the trees around my neighborhood that showed me how special my life is right now. It was the crystal clear blue waters of the beach and it’s beautiful views. It was the silence of my room where the buzzing of the fan above me cooled me down as I studied. It was the cozy living room where my family and I cuddle up on the couch to enjoy a Bollywood Blockbuster film. It was the loving people around me that value me for who I am.
This life is the only movie that matters and it’s always on play. It’s consistently happening and every moment of your life is encapsulated in this movie. This movie is overflowing with opportunity to do something, creating something, learn something, or go somewhere.
Might as well give into the life I’m getting to experience right now.
Now, every time I open any social media app, I get hit with the painful realization that I’m saying “no” to my own life story. I’m ignoring the chance to soak in my current experience of life, which is constantly unraveling in miracles and insights.
There is so much here already. Choose to see it.
It aches me to think now that I would even give away a second of my time to an algorithm that bombards me with an overwhelming amount of information that isn’t even relevant to my experience of life. It’s like even when I turn off my phone, I am still experiencing MY life, which won’t be improved by Instagram or TikTok. Instead, I capitalize on precious time that’s being handed to me this very second to something fun for myself like going on a run, working on passion projects, or spending time with my family.
Consequently, I feel so blessed and satisfied. I welcome the challenging emotions that come with life because I know it’s a part of my movie. I don’t see difficulties as a burden anymore that I need to solve. Instead, it’s just another plot to my movie that I embrace with open arms.
Choosing to see the human experience of life that is separate from the endless switching between 20 different apps will show you that right now, you are safe. Right now, there is space and you are present. You are here.
Here is all there is and all there ever will be. Therefore, it’s the most abundant source of peace of presence that you’re seeking. Relax. You’re just fine right here.
J I V A W A Y S 