It is that time.
The end of the line.
The holidays are over.
Tomorrow, I go back to work.
And what that means is, that this is the last of the Summer Reflection series, which has been fun to write daily for the last 40-odd days. It has been a good way to document my days in a way that I will remember, but more than that, it helped me find value in what was largely ordinary experiences. It helped me to look at the days a little differently, and reflect upon what transpired.
I was more grateful for the ordinary.
But, what it also reminded me is how easy it should be to create something original on Hive. Even if it isn't literary gold, and even if it isn't about the most exciting events in the world, we each have days where we experience things that make us think. Perhaps the ones who have the least amount of this, are those who spend their days online, rather than with people. When they write, they tend to be regurgitators.
A lot of people compare Hive to other social medias, but that isn't really a fair comparison. On all the other social medias that the majority of people flock to, the platform itself is trying to sell you something by design, which means, so are all the users. Their economy is driven by ad revenue, and it fundamentally undermines the integrity of all the information provided. It is not that it is all produced to deceive, but when encased within the context of the platform, it inevitably will.
When the social medias first started, users were actually creating there, sharing pictures of their lunch and updating bits of their lives. However, once the monetization really kicked in and they worked out how to really mine through ad revenue, the platform incentives changed, and ordinary users, turned into extraordinary consumers.
Insatiable.
It is more than an addiction, it is a mental illness. Yet, people keep logging on, eating, but getting nothing of value out of it for themselves. They don't get better, they just get worse in pretty much every way imaginable.
If they had an imagination left to use that is.
Many seem to struggle to create anything anymore, which indicates low imagination, or low motivation. Either way, I think we have crushed down the human willingness and ability to create something, to make a personal mark on this world using our minds and bodies. Stupid content goes viral, but the real virus is the one spreading through the platforms that share it, the sickness that stops us being human. Instead, we are just fed cattle, getting milked for our attention.
And therefore our potential.
All we have in our control is our attention, but it is being stolen from us and we are willing victims. Yet, to break the cycle, all we have to do is stop consuming mindlessly, and start creating mindfully. I am not talking about the nonsense of mindfulness as sold by the media, rather, the practice of paying attention to our surroundings, behaviors, interactions and our thoughts and feelings about our experience - and then share.
Is it so hard?
Maybe people's days are so boring that they have nothing to write about. Maybe they are just so incredibly busy that they can't find the time. But, either way, doesn't that indicate other issues? If life is so boring, why? If so busy, why?
What are you doing, and where is your time being spent?
Maybe we should all take stock of our lives and work out what is going on. And for those who feel that they should be doing something different but don't know what, I suggest writing about it. For those who are doing what they love already, I suggest writing about it.
There is so much value in just taking some mental space and writing.
So, while I don't know what the next series of writing is going to be, the experience of this one was a reminder that I should create another. Something that helps me reflect, grow and perhaps help or motivate others to grow themselves too.
Do it daily and all these small steps mount up.
Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]