Author: MAÔ

The important thing to remember is that, life – it is a practice. Not a destination.

You have to work at it. And that’s true for just about anything you might want to do.

The best thing about having a routine is the structure and stability it provides you.

While routines provide structure, the ideal routine also incorporates flexibility to adapt to changing circumstances and occasional spontaneity to keep life interesting.

The most effective routines feel supportive rather than restrictive.

We get in our own way so often.

We want to skip to the ending. Pass over the hard work in between.

But the middle sections matter just as much, if not even more so.

By trying to jump ahead, we trip ourselves up.

Every new day is an opportunity to achieve something.

It doesn’t have to be a big something.

But all you need to do is make a step in the right direction.

Creative works are not meant for everyone. Shouldn’t be.

Good creative works, they may only appeal to a small percentage, those that “get” it. 

There’s broadly accepted “consumer” art. Which is also fine. In fact, those creators are probably making a lot of money off of their work. 

But auteurs – maybe only a very select few understand the product. 

And, maybe, that’s okay.

Social media. The wild west…

These communities are fictions. They are not real. And we shouldn’t treat them as such.

But, it’s come back to what parents used to ask their kids, so long ago, when more involvement was the norm:

“If all your friends were going to jump off a bridge, would you?”

Yeah, Mom. It certainly seems like we would.

When someone steps into the online communities of Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, or Twitter, what they’re seeing is people they look up to, or peers, in a performative exhibition.

Sometimes it’s apparent, but many times, not so much. Jealousy or anxiety may arise. And, to fit in, these users must also exhibit performative behavior. Which can lead to more anxiety, in a vicious cycle.

Slow and steady, they say.

Slowly. Very slowly.

It’s important not to get too far ahead of yourself, lest you trip yourself up.

When trust in the information landscape is eroded – specifically considering the way media has been demonized over the past several years – it then becomes impossible to trust what we’re hearing, reading, and seeing.

In fact, given the advances in technology, it is certainly difficult to tell what is real and what is not (okay, maybe not impossible, but there are some really good fakes out there).

We must reestablish trust in the media landscape.

It seems that we’re living in a time where it’s less about belonging where we are, and more about finding those anywhere else who have similar viewpoints to ours.

And what we’re missing, then, is actual connection.