Most days I wake up hungry for connection. And all too often my answer to that craving is picking up my iPhone. There, I escape. I get lost in some technicolored world of stylized imagery and catchy one-liners. As the bright light floods my face, I am like a moth drawn to the flame.
The antidote to this hankering is to foster a connection with the true self. As I lay in bed, feeling the reflexive reach start to take hold of my fingertips, instead I place my palm on my heart. I remind myself that I am worthy (just as you are) of the richness of self love. Wholeness. I am propelled through this world by a beautifully strong body, and I thank that too. Sometimes, this simple reminder is enough. You wouldn’t believe the way this elementary line-of-thought shifts my perspective on the day. When it’s not enough, I also try:
Reflecting on what I dreamed the night before. Is there something my intuition wishes to share with me through the shadowy symbolism of the dreamscape?
Opening my journal and writing. What thoughts linger after a full night’s sleep? What hopes and goals are bubbling up in anticipation of the day ahead?
Stretching in my bed. Introducing simple movements, my legs swaying back and forth like a palm in the breeze or reaching my hands towards the headboard, loosening up my shoulders. The body is summoned back from the paralysis of the sleep world into one of movement and sovereignty.
I do believe there are powerfully effective ways to connect online. I believe that social media has revolutionized the boundaries of reach, with physical distance becoming a mere bagatelle as a result. By and large, social media has so much potential for good, even when history has shown otherwise. But the line of connection is thinner than we realize when we are acting in response to compulsion. Waking up to an impulse is not the same as acting with intention. While intention serves every realm of life, it is ESPECIALLY critical in the intoxicating world of distractions.