And how this evoked my creativity
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On May 10, 2022, I shared a post on Instagram saying it would be my last one on that social media platform. I tell you ‘why’ in this blogpost.
Liberation
On May 5 – the day the Netherlands celebrates freedom and the end of World War II – I got the strong feeling that leaving Instagram would liberate me.
I thought about this feeling of liberation and felt the greatness of it.
I felt that ‘SPACE’ is the ultimate form of freedom.
Space to BE who we are.
Space to CHANGE when we want.
Space to EXPLORE new ideas.
I felt I was caught in a system called social media. Social media as the prison guard. Me in the ‘role’ of prisoner. But the good thing is; we can always step out of this play.
Although I have met many beautiful souls on the platform, I felt it was the right thing for me to do at this point of my soul journey.
Instagram didn’t serve me anymore, and so I decided to leave.
As soon as I made the decision and posted my message I felt a great relief. I went outside into my garden and took a deep breath.
Finally, I could ‘breathe’ again.
Power
I recognized this feeling as I experienced it before; the day I decided to quit my job.
Back in 2019 I was strained by my work. It reminded me of a burn-out, which I experienced ten years earlier, back in 2009. I knew that this way of living wasn’t for me anymore. It wasn’t worth it to sell my time, health and soul to a job that wasn’t fulfilling.
I went home.
The day after I called my manager and said that I wouldn’t come back. I never doubted my decision and nobody could make me change my mind.
I was driven by a great inner power. I stepped into trust. Trust in myself. Trust that everything would be all right. Trust that I was taken care of.
Trust in the Universe and my voice within.
The moment I decided to quit Instagram I felt the same power & trust. It was like all the energies of the Universe were celebrating my choice to listen to my inner guidance once again.
This is the force of free will at work. We are no victims. We can choose how we act and with this we ‘create our reality’.
Free will
In the book ‘Busy – How to thrive in a world of too much’ I read about the principle of ‘Learned Helplessness’, a theory by M. Seligman – professor of psychology.
‘learned helplessness; mental state in which an organism is forced to bear stimuli that are painful or otherwise unpleasant, becomes unable or unwilling to avoid subsequent encounters with those stimuli, even if they are “escapable,” presumably because it has learned that it cannot control the situation.’
This sounds intense, but it also shows that we have the ability to choose. The door to freedom is always open. We are the ones that can decide to walk through it. Or we stay inside the ‘cage’ because it feels ‘safe’ or we have learned to know it as our ‘truth’.
This reminds me of another book:
‘Man’s Search For Meaning‘
– a 1946 book by Viktor E. Frankl chronicling his experiences as an Auschwitz concentration camp inmate during World War II. –
With his story he wants to show us that we must look for ways to make each individual moment valuable. Every person has a unique vocation that only they can accomplish, and every one is responsible for undertaking this job.
Freedom
Freedom is subjective. It is not only about being physical ‘free’, it is also, or perhaps even more, about being mentally and spiritual ‘free’.
Viktor Frankl says about freedom:
“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms — to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”
Is the comparison between Social Media and WW II far-fetched? I don’t believe it is.
Frankl’s life lessons can be applied in many situations. He turned his insights into a psychotherapeutic method, called positive psychology, which involves identifying a purpose in life to feel positively about, and then imagining that outcome.
Freedom is a narrow window.
We have to consciously ‘choose’ to enter this space called ‘freedom’.
Alignment
Instagram started to feel like a ‘prison’ to me. We make each other believe that we have to be or stay on Instagram if we want to share our creativity with the world.
We talk about the algorithm, and how to ‘hack’ it. Which post will do ‘well’ and which not. What you ‘should’ share to have a bigger reach, and so on. By ‘buying’ into this I was in fact limiting myself.
With platforms like Instagram we build our own cage. At first it seems like it is giving us great opportunities, when in fact, we are giving away our power.
I believe the Universe is without boundaries and is abundant beyond our wildest imagination.
I believe Instagram, or social media for that matter, isn’t the holy grail. To be honest, I believe these kind of platforms make good (mis)use of the psychics of humans, and the sooner you see that, the better.
I saw that what I was doing was in misalignment with my envisioned dreamlife. So, I stepped out of the ‘story’ of Instagram and back into alignment with my soul’s desire and creativity.
Creativity is the Source of all Life.
Space
The Universe responded immediately. I felt inspiration once again and saw signs everywhere. Something I missed the last few weeks.
Finally, I slowed down again and I took time to feel what I wanted to do.
For example, which book I wanted to continue reading. I felt drawn to ‘Super Attractor’ by Gabby Bernstein, which had been lying on my nightstand, and started reading where I left off:
“In what ways are you controlling your actions to try to force an outcome?
Are you trying different tactics to turn your romantic partner into someone they’re not?
Are you pushing to get your work seen on social media?
Look at the ways in which your actions are backed with fear rather than faith.”
By stepping away from social media I stepped into my true self and felt life flowing again. Inspiration and creativity started running through my veins as it had done before.
“Freedom is the air we Breathe when we have no fear.”
The feeling that I could breathe again the moment I decided to walk through the gates into the open space was a true miracle.
It was the exact feeling I describe at the end of Lost & Found –Book I – when the main character, Lieze, walks out the door into the open space.
She stepped outside her old story and felt the nature, the animals, the universe, the air, her lungs, her body. She felt connected with herself and everything around her.
She was in the NOW – moment, and so am I.
Love,
Bianca ~Be Budding