Part 2 – Please read part 1 first ‘ I am a traveller, not a tourist’
So here I am enjoying being fully alive. My only way to feel alive is to be present in the now-moment. Nothing else makes me more present than sunsets. Some years ago I took quite a lot of pictures during sunsets, but one day I understood that I missed the whole calming thing about sunsets taking pictures. Now I allow myself to take two pictures and a short film if I really need to. That’s all.
In Jacó, Costa Rica, the sunsets are amazing. So I do understand the urge of taking photos. People are posing, often couples, taking selfies with the beautiful sunset. Yesterday this amazing thing happened. As the sun was setting, the full moon was rising. I was standing in between these two powerful energies feeling so much bliss. I would say, only 10 percent of the paparazzis did see this amazing phenomenon happening, not judging them but only saying how few actually were present in what happened. And as soon as the sun sets they are all gone. The picture is taken and no more need of exploring. Right after the sunset the sky turns grey, but if you wait like 20min the most beautiful colours are rising from the sea. The sky is turning into a beautiful painting once again. An extra treat worth waiting for. As I walk along the beach at dusk, guarded by the full moon, I feel the stars rising. I will never have any picture showing my whole sunset experience this particular evening but the experience will always only be in my heart as something sacred.
I have been spending two days on the beach together with a lot of disconnected people. I am not judging now, I am only describing what I saw in front of my eyes walking along the beach or swimming in the ocean. We had this group of 5 girls, riding on the beach for the first time of their whole life. Some of them were scared or I would say at least uncomfortable and yet they had their phone in their hand, filming and taking pics during their whole experience, posing in all angles. No judgement at all, but seeing this from a distance, I am only wondering if they remember how it was to feel the energy from the horse, how the horse supported them and if they gained any knowledge on how to ride a horse. And then I am curious about how long they spent preparing all the material for posting on a social media platform. For me it would have taken ages to choose from all the filmed material.
The next day I am playing in the waves again, having this sweet couple as only company for some hours. Both were on their phones literally the whole time. Maybe saying a few words to each other. I am perplexed. It is ok with MeTime, but isn’t MeTime reading a book, meditating or at least connecting to oneself somehow. Phones do not make us connected.
I am giving you one more. I am still in the water and I see this beautiful girl in her twenties taking selfies in all directions of open space. She is posing kneeling, prone on the beach, standing, in the water. She knows how to do this. She could work as a model because she already knows all about taking pics. The only thing she does during the two hours she spends on the beach is taking pics. She does not even jump into the amazing water. This makes me worried. Is this what life is about nowadays? Are we disconnecting that much from our true selves, only chasing likes on social media? Are we living through a screen hoping to feel happy? You know what, true happiness does not come from likes. True happiness comes from being present in the ‘now’ moment. I will explore happiness in a future post, but what I see makes me worried.
An hour later, I am reading on the beach and a man runs by saying “ I am glad that you are investing in yourself by reading”. On his next lap he stops and asks me about my book. When he finishes his run an hour later, he comes back and we have this amazing conversation for an hour or so, where I forget about the strong mid-day sun all absorbed by what we are sharing. At the end of our conversation I still do not know his name or his instagram profile. What I am trying to say is, I would have never met this amazing person if I would have been on my phone.
I am not saying that I am not using social media or taking pics. I do both. What I am trying to understand is what it does to me. I am using social media for sharing from my heart, but I always evaluate at what cost. Privately I do not use social media almost at all, because it makes me disconnected from myself. In work, I am trying to spend as little time as I can on social platforms, still being present and sharing. I love actually when I travel outside Europe, then I do not have any internet except wifi and it makes life wonderful for me.
I am not looking for likes, I want you to feel something within you when you read my posts. I want to inspire you to find your sparkle to be fully alive with an open heart.
Thanks for taking your time
With love,
Isabella