There are a few things that are prompting me to write this “manifesto”. Not only did I want to write about my aims and personal policy regarding social media, but I wanted to share it because it might make sense to you and you might join me on this quest. One of the things that I noticed about many people’s posts about the end of 2016 was the sharing of the hardships and challenges of the past year, how they were so “Done with 2016” and looking forward to the New Year. It reminded me of a saying “Was it a bad day? Or was it a bad five minutes that you milked all day?” We tend to define ourselves and our lives by what we have endured, but broadcasting the negativity of it, without the gratefulness of the lessons learned. So this manifesto of social media is more about how to broadcast a life that is PUSHing the virtues of life, those things that are positive forces done with an intentionality to put a better light on all situations.
There Is Only Change; There Is No Loss
That is a fundamental statement about energy, but can also be used for so much more. What is energy anyway? It is the ability of something to do work. In your life, is there an importance toward work? If there is, than the study of energy would be important. Energy involved in social media can be broken down into a science of motion and force. To understand the physics we have to understand “Motion” (an object’s change of position over time), and “Force” (an influence that causes an object to change) are very much a part of what we are doing with social media. If we look at emotions in a upward or downward spiral, emotions are energy in motion, and we can use our energy through social media as a force to influence a change in motion of that energy.
So posting about something we are worried about adds to an already downward spiral. Joining in on blame or disappointment also adds to a negative vibe and can affect you not only as the poster but all those that read what you write because it now becomes an outside force, an influence.
If we spend time on social media, we see messages, and even though they are just words and images that can’t physically control your actions, they do contain an energy that is broadcasted. This broadcasted energy may not have much force in the big picture, but it still is there, and still can influence and change the emotional directions of others.
Madison Avenue and the advertising industry have been aware of this for years, and know that messages received multiple times can influence buying decisions. There are case studies galore on how we can be manipulated by outside forces, so it is prudent that we understand what we are broadcasting out into that media stream, because it becomes a reflection of us, and can influence not only how we are perceived, but how we perceive the world in general.
It is said that the human face broadcasts six basic emotions, anger, disgust, fear, joy, sadness, and surprise. This is part of our broadcasting palette too as we post on social media. This is how we broadcast ALWAYS, but our social media selfies are a part sharing emotional energies.
So back to the manifesto, because there are influences or force with each action of posting that can change motion, my manifesto is to add to the positivity of the world, and not add to spirals spin easily downward. We as humans have basic needs, those of autonomy, celebration, integrity, interdependence, physical nurturance, play, and spiritual communion. With the effort, attention and intentionality I will activate the seven virtues in conjunction with those basic human needs.
- Chastity
- Kindness
- Diligence
- Temperance
- Forgiveness
- Generosity
- Humility
I will not add angry rhetoric about injustices; rather I will celebrate those that promote harmony and patience. I will not vent about things that are “wrong” or challenges that I have, but rather I will radiate a truly thankful nature of the things that I do have and encourage moderation not gluttony. I will not promote greed or give energy towards those that do, but rather enjoy the NOW and the gifts that are present in each day.
So call me out on it if you see me doing something from this day forth that promotes on incites greed, anger, laziness, envy or lust. Hold in me in check if I am self-focused, because that is an act of pride, hold me accountable to having a servant’s heart, of being outwardly focused on all of humankind and nature that surrounds me. Also think about it, there is a point to those crazy cat videos too – they allow for an influence of Joy, and we all need that kind of PUSH at times!
Challenge yourself to radiate and broadcast in a way that will PUSH emotional movement with positive vectors, be cognisant of yours and others human needs and feed those needs with rich and wholesome energy. The thing is, that we all know this already, but we slip, we get into a rut, we sometimes do what we think is right, but it comes out a little bit negative. That is OK, we are allowed to fall, but we also are challenged to PUSH on through and continue the good fight to be there for others and lighten the world with positive energy that empowers others.
Keep up the good work; I hope to see many of your posts and positive influences in the years to come.
John “Z” Zeydel (502) 777-7892 feel free to call or text
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