Does our credibility diminish every time there’s a joust in our minds between what we’re meant to do and what we aren’t doing?
For as long as I can remember, I’ve worn my ‘creativity’ as a badge. In a sea of charming orators and effervescent storytellers – being quiet and shy (with compliments from my poor social skills) made me fairly invisible in high school (IRL, too).
It was in college then, when I unearthed a passion for expressing myself through artistic projects and writing. The invisible particles I was made up of were becoming less… Translucent. I was thrilled, I had a label. Creative! (That a-ha moment was defining, heady and supremely encouraging.)
Soon after college began and ended – I was ejected into an altogether different universe. Adulthood! Essentially, feeling lost and looking for a job. (It’s purely coincidental that 10 years later, I’m floundering and finding my feet, again, but I digress.) Social media was on the rise then; by virtue of its existence, it opened doors to possibilities. The internet granted us meek introverts, voices; my peers (and I) were keen to tap into the powers of the mediums at our fingertips.
I could pen an essay attributing to how social media enriched and shaped my life, thereafter – however, I know that not everything we’re absorbing or putting out there could possibly be of the purest quality. Social media causes you to view life in a skewed, virtual form of insanity (Jamiroquai, anyone?) which makes me think of The Treachery of Images by René Magritte. It’s a painting of a pipe but is certainly not a pipe, not at all (I’ll give you a moment).
Art-makers and creators find solace on social media platforms because they can reach out to relevant audiences, publicise what they do and land unconventional jobs. Documenting their journeys, online can also be therapeutic (for them) because creative folks tend to work in isolation or reclusive habitats.
Having said that, during a particularly distressing time when one isn’t creating or doing anything relevant – scrolling through social media feeds can be like a game of Minesweeper. You’re taking tentative steps forward (random speculation, y’all) and before you know it, BOOM! You’re taken out (without fair warning). That, my friends, is what a trigger is like.
What you view on your idols’/peers’ social media feeds can sometimes have you believe that you’re a fraud if you aren’t contributing or doing anything. At this point, my editor, Aakriti Joanna (also, the founder of Kaha Mind) gently intervenes… She suggests filtering your social media feeds, every once in a while – I wholeheartedly agree. Every time you feel like you’re treading that faint line between what causes you anxiety and what actually inspires you, learn to identify/understand what your triggers are. This teaches you when to pause/switch off (blocking and unfollowing might help too).
A truth I can offer you before we bid farewell: What you do might be an extension of yourself, this isn’t the ‘whole’ you. When you’re on the interwebz, remember that while there’s some truth in what you see, it doesn’t make up the whole picture. (This is not a pipe.)
About the author-
Deeply fond of black coffee, dawdling at bookstores and snail mail (receiving and sending) – Roanna Fernandes likes all things simple and somehow quaint. She hopes to open her own shop of curiosities, one day and fill it with all that she creates and curates.