Do You Want To Be Concsious Online?

Written By Don Shetterly

I'm sitting here in frustration at the moment watching what happens online every day.  I see it and keep hoping it will change, but the needle seems to be going in the negative direction.  So, I'm left to wonder, do people want to be conscious?

Somedays, it seems like social media is nothing more than a rant about political beliefs.  The world could be ending in this very second, and all anyone seems to care about is the latest tirade on Twitter or the grabbing headline of the day.  There is no in-depth analysis.  It is what people hear that they regurgitate no matter how hard they try to convince others they make up their own minds.  Sorry, the evidence shows the contrary.

People want to be concerned about mental health, depression, suicide and anxiety among other health situations.  I applaud this.  I think it needs to be talked about, but far too often it means nothing more than a retweet or like on social media.  The conversation doesn't continue.  It only ticks up the counters in the tweet or post.  I see this in stuff especially about suicide I have posted.  It gets clicks, but that's as far as it goes.

What does it matter?

There are so many games played online with people where if you click this, I'll follow you back.  Oh look, I can buy more followers.  Oh look, people, see how much I can spend online to get a lot of retweets, likes, and comments.  At the end of the day, what does that matter?  What have you accomplished that changed your life or the world?

Don't you dare say anything that doesn't fit into everyone's beliefs because it would be too uncomfortable if we could discuss with someone who holds opposing thoughts?  It doesn't matter if it is hot-button issues or simple things, I've seen the sudden drop online because of it.  I don't necessarily look for those that agree with me, but I just look for those that respect others.  We can hold differing viewpoints, but we're still fellow humans traveling on this earth.

Many people online act as if they have the only answer.  They are the experts.  They know the truth.  There is nothing else or anything that they could possibly entertain.  So, once again I ask, do people want to be conscious?

Some give lip service...

I really wonder if people do because I see very few that attempt to do this.  Some give lip service to it.  Some make it appear they do, but it is the same thing as if you have a glass house thinking no one can see inside.

It isn't about what other people want and what they do either.  It is about each one of us and what we want.  Do you want to be conscious?  Are you willing to go the distance and be conscious?  Are you ready to step away from all you know, all you have been taught and your beliefs to be conscious?

I mean, are you ready to challenge everything you know and drop what no longer serves you?  No, I don't say you do this if it agrees with you, but if it makes you uncomfortable.  I mean, if it makes you question things that are not easy.  It is where we begin to find consciousness.  We do not find it in the safety of our routine lives.

Diminished what was written...

I posted something about the topic of what is truth.  One person immediately without reading it said it is a religious thing.  They did not even entertain what the blog post was about but was so quick to state their belief rather than be informed.  They diminished what was written by their own unconsciousness.  They were not showing love or compassion or understanding.

So, once again I ask, Do you want to be conscious?  I'm not going to let anyone off the hook on this blog post.  I know this is a hard question.  I know we want to say, of course, we do, but in all reality - is that true?

I too struggle with this daily, and I think that is a good thing.  If you want to be conscious, but you don't wade into the water, you may need to work on being more honest with yourself.  See, we fool ourselves into thinking that we are more than what we are.  We kid ourselves into believing that we have everything together while we hide and ignore, numb and disconnect to what is the truth around us.

Deeper than we currently see...

Consciousness is not just a thought process.  It means being connected to our mind, body, emotions, thoughts, and the higher spiritual side of where we fit in this world.  Consciousness is not just a meme we retweet or the fake smile we paste on our face.  It is more than spouting our own beliefs as if everyone else should think like us.  It is deeper than we currently see and if we think we are conscious, we most likely are a long way off.

Consciousness means we go in and become aware of all parts of our life, even the most uncomfortable ones.  Where fear is afraid to tread, that's where we go to become more aware and conscious.

It is up to each one of us how we live our life.  If we spend every waking minute worrying about the latest tirade of the day, we're not helping the world.  We're adding to the problem.  The world and human civilization have serious issues, and it is looking for people to step up to the plate and help solve these problems.  Unfortunately, we have a world that is screaming at one another.  Nothing is being resolved.

Through your actions...

Do you want to be conscious?  It isn't a yes or no answer.  It is how you live in a day and what you do through your actions that give the answers.  It is where you focus your time and help and love, not just how much you act as if you do.  Conscious means doing more and being more than you were yesterday and not as far as tomorrow.  It is a daily commitment, not a one time retweet or like or post.

I write because I want to see the world and human civilization wake up.  No, I'm not referring to politics or religion.  I mean, waking up from the inside out.  Learning how to live not only in your mind but in your body.  Seeing that your life is led by a heart that is fully open, not close or semi-open from the trials of life.

I write because I want to make a difference.  I don't care about many of the issues most get frantic about these days.  Those are temporary unconscious events that only bring out the worst in people.  I'm more concerned with how you deal with your health and mental well-being.  The overall love and acceptance of others are what matters to me, not the judgment and condemnation we shove in other people's faces.

Do you want to be conscious?  If you do, make sure your actions and thoughts and your words work in that direction.  See the big picture, not the moment by moment parts of life that do not advance the civilization of this universe.  See that consciousness begins deep inside of you and radiates out for all to observe.

I'll leave you with this question one last time because I just want you to think about it.  The answer is not as important as the process of contemplation.  Do You Want To Be Conscious?

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Blog Post And Images (c) 11/9/2017 by Don Shetterly

• Permission required before any part of this blog post is reprinted, reworded or used in any form. 
• You are welcomed to share the LINK to this blog post.  

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Lazy Online Communication Of Likes and Shares

That's it!  I get tired of seeing this every day.  The mindless chatter online and the statements or likes that say absolutely nothing, add absolutely nothing and do nothing for a day.  Online social media has made us anything but social.

In fact, I think we should just stop writing words online.  Instead, the only thing we should be able to do is "LIKE", "SHARE", and "FORWARD" or insert a smiley face.  No one reads the words most of the time.  I can't believe some of the stuff I've seen.

Life is surely more than giving someone a smiley face or emoji.  Life is surely more than a like on Facebook or Twitter.  Life is surely more than mindlessly sharing things all day on social media while not even knowing what the shared things say.

We could be so much more...

Modern technology could make us so much better, but we have gone the route of lazy in our online communications.  We've gone the way of injecting almost no meaning into what we share and like and write.  All too often, we are not even humans most days online, but we give a smiley or a like in proof that we are.

Can we not do better?  Can we  not rise to the occasion before us?  Doesn't life deserve more?  Doesn't life demand more?  We are failing life - each and every one of us.  We are not human these days.  We are only acting as if we are human.

Consciousness has taken a back door...

Consciousness has taken a back door, but we share our simplistic memes and thoughts as if we are conscious.  Awareness has exited the building.  Compassion is something that we claim we do, but our actions say the opposite.

I'm frustrated with what I see in a day.  I desire for humans to be more than they are and be all that they can be.  Settling for second best is not the desire I have for this world.
 

Let us find ways to use technology to bring out the best in each other, not resort to mindless chatter and name calling.  Let us find ways to use technology to help advance our human civilization, not destroy it with lazy communication that means almost nothing.

That's my rant.  I know, the words will probably fall on ears that cannot hear.  Maybe everyone will prove me wrong and ignorant on this subject.  I may just be preaching to the choir!

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Blog Post And Images (c) 2016 by Don Shetterly

• Permission required before any part of this blog post is reprinted, reworded or used in any form. 
• You are welcomed to share the LINK to this blog post.  

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We Can Do Better With Social Media

It blows my mind just how mind-numbed we are in a day.  I see it online in such a big way that my brain cannot even begin to comprehend it.  I wish it was different.  I'm trying to be different with my news feed, but some days I wonder if I am losing the battle.

People love to click on tweets and Facebook posts, but the majority of the time, they have never read what they are clicking on.  People like and favorite all day long, but if you're not reading the content, how can you even know that it is something good?

Don't get me wrong, I love people sharing and liking and clicking on my content.  I really do!

The ones that go on and favorite or like or share something who have not even read it are more a part of the problem than they realize.  I'm sorry if that sounds harsh and brash, but I hope we can do better with social media then we do.  I'd love to see us use it to help enhance our civilization, not just pass on stuff that has absolutely no value to it.

Those that leave a comment based upon the a few words telling you what you should know as if you didn't know already, have not even read the article.  Its easy to spot.  Yet, they are telling someone that you should do this or live your life this way or some other meaningless statement.  This is an insult to someone that writes and tries to help elevate the discussion.

Don't get me wrong, I love people interacting with me on social media. 

We can't go through life just clicking and liking things without knowing what it is that we share.  We've got to do better.  We've got to be more if we want the world to survive.  Just being a mind-numbed robot does nothing positive for this world.

We've got to be better than...

We've got to be better than those who just write horrible messages especially in a time of tragedy.  We've got to be better than those that seek to make everything into a political statement and narrow everything down to an issue with only two sides.  

We can do better...

We can do better with social media if we want.  We can be part of the problem and check our brains at the door.  I want people to challenge one another to be more than they were the day before and we don't do this by mindlessly trolling along twitter or Facebook with our inauthentic comments.

(click image to read)

There is much in a day that is useless and I would be ashamed if I had written it or shared it.  Maybe my standards are too high, but why do I want to waste my precious hours on things that take me nowhere?  It doesn't make sense.

Let's find ways to do better with social media.  Let's elevate the discussion to be more than we are today and help others do the same.  I know we can do this.  I know we can be more than we are.  It just takes each one of us making the choice.

Question Of The Day

• How are you helping make social media better?

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Blog Post And Images (c) 2016 by Don Shetterly

• Permission required before any part of this blog post is reprinted, reworded or used in any form. 
• You are welcomed to share the LINK to this blog post.  

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I Live My Life

Some of the things I see people do on social media makes me wonder in amazement.  I see posts where people feel that if they say "amen" or they like and share some religious post that this is what God wants and all will be good.

I see people sharing and posting stuff (or in some ways strutting their stuff) on social media as if to show just how great they are.  Maybe that is not their intent, but it sure comes across that way.  It feels fake.  It feels icky.

We show others who we are by not only our words, but by our actions.  A person that proclaims how much they love others, may be one that doesn't truly show that through their life and actions.  A person that proclaims how forgiving they are, may be one that harbors the most resentment and forgiveness of anyone out there.

We tend to portray to the world what we want the world to see, not necessarily what is in our hearts.  Sure, we can be convincing and we can shame others through our words that we are right, but that doesn't make it necessarily true.

All you have to do is watch what people share in a day on Facebook.  Are they balanced?  Are they one-sided?  Do they just do the same thing over and over, or is there depth to what they propagate and forward on.  How much do they interact with others in a personal way rather than just forwarding on every meme that shows up?

When it comes to religious stuff, I doubt very much that God is sitting up in the cloud recording who shared or liked a post or wrote AMEN.  I could really be wrong, but I don't recall reading in the Bible that thou must share and like and type amen.  I don't really think that matters too much in the scheme of things because it would seem that you would want to really make a difference.  It would seem that it would need to be more action oriented then grandstanding.

For me, I write a tremendous amount about my life.  I don't always share every side of detail of my life, but I share a great deal of it.  I try to open my life up to help others learn, rather than hide in silence.  I try to show a balance in a day.  Although I most likely fail at this just like everyone else.

I try to live my life with actions and what I do, not just with getting up on a pedestal and proclaiming how good I am, or how much love I have or that I am this or that.  I try to just do what I feel needs to be done and let those actions speak for me.  I try to stay true to my heart and my life, not a factitious facade.

There are far too many getting up and shouting every day and missing the mark.  There are far too many trying to portray one life to the world, but yet living a completely different life in private.  Isn't it time, we start being honest with ourselves, rather than being an advertisement for life?

In other words, we need to walk the talk!

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Blog Post And Images (c) 1/8/16 by Don Shetterly

• Permission required before any part of this blog post is reprinted, reworded or used in any form. 
• You are welcomed to share the LINK to this blog post.  

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Why Make Fun Of People

Everyday on Facebook and Twitter and I'm sure a hundred other social media sites, there is just so much shared that is disrespectful.  It is not human.  I just don't understand why people think it is okay and fun and correct to make fun of people.

So what if the person is different?  So what if they have a different color skin?  It doesn't matter if they are gay or small or overweight or have pointed noses and ears.

It is disgusting how people do this and then they propagate it on by sharing and liking it and forwarding it.  Despicable! I have even seen upstanding people who think they are on the right side of politics forward some pretty disgusting stuff.  At the same time, they claim how bad the other side is?

Quit sharing and liking and forwarding the stuff on.  That will help a the entire world a tremendous amount.  Quit seeing everyone different from you as someone you should fear and hate and loathe.  Quit listening to the every day news stories that claims you should hate or dislike certain groups.

If we did this in school when we were younger, we would have gotten in trouble for it.  We expect more from our children then we do for ourselves.  It is like we are telling our children to do what we say, but don't do what you see us do.  Actions speak louder than words.

Why anyone makes fun of people, I don't understand.  We are all cells, tissues, organs and bones.  We all have a heart and a brain, toes and feet, arms and hands.  We are all human and we speak different languages.  We see things differently and we believe differently.  We are all essentially the same makeup biologically.

Instead of making fun of other people, why don't we try see just how much we are alike.  Let's see the similarities with others and try to ignore the differences.  We're not going to survive as a human civilization if all we do is make fun of people each hour of every day.

When we make fun of people, it is the same as when we make fun of ourselves.  We don't value our self enough to see the good in others.  We don't respect our self enough to respect others.

It is time we stop and reverse the course that we are now on.  We have lowered ourselves to such a low level that the mud pit of life is getting pretty crowded.  We're trampling upon each other just to entertain ourselves, but one of these days we will need each other.  Hopefully Facebook and Twitter isn't around to stop that!

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Blog Post And Images (c) 12/31/15 by Don Shetterly

• Permission required before any part of this blog post is reprinted, reworded or used in any form. 
• You are welcomed to share the LINK to this blog post.  

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The Game of Social Media Likes

Some days I just shake my head in disbelief.  The communication we now employ among others in our civilization is not really communication.  It is a fake put on smile.  It is a fake series of keystrokes designed to make everyone believe it is useful and valid.

It is a game of social media likes.  It is a game of making people think that somehow a "like" or a "share" on Facebook equates with communication, caring, and support.  Sure, maybe I'm being a little harsh on this, but it sure feels this way at times.

Of course Facebook does its best to promote this practice, because the more each user comes back to their Facebook page, the more valuable they are to Facebook.  There is a reason why it is set up this way and the "like" button feeds into that process.

Exhaustive Protest List

Does anyone know of such a list?  One that would be an exhaustive list of every business and place to protest and the reason why?  I mean, after all if you read Social Media, you'll see this pretty quickly.

I get so tired of reading this or being forced to read it.  Yes, I know I could just stop using Social Media, but I do like keeping up with friends.  I just get so tired of every post I see  being over-the-top screaming about everything and anything in life.

No, I don't like the regular news media because I don't buy into the hype and fear they push.  There is a reason for that.  It is not news.  It is fear entertainment designed to get you hooked into watching their garbage.  If you feel that is good for you, by all means do it.  I try to avoid it.  I can't stand it!

I really don't want to read all the one-sided postings and when people share 5 and 10 of them at a time, it exhausts my Social Media feed with nonsense.  Yes, I keep hiding things and people, but to be honest, that is ineffective.

Click Share And Like

People sometimes irritate the daylights out of me on social media.  It is like the place for responses that have absolutely no care or respect come out in full force.  I don't know what it is about typing into a screen, but its been this way too impersonal since the early message board and forum days of the internet.

Social media just makes this type of behavior that much easier.  After all, you can do it quicker and with more ease.  No need to read through long lengthy forum posts, just pop them one liners in the social media feed quicker than you can say snot.  LOL!

I know, we're all not a bunch of conscious human beings and it shows in politics and on social media.  It shows our ignorance more than we want to admit.  Does it have to be this way?  I'd like to say no, but I've got a feeling that unconsciousness will win out.

The happy platitudes, the ignorant and uncaring responses and those in your face sharing every article, link, and web page posted across the internet are more than enough in a day.  In fact, they are a waste of time for the most part.

Respect With Our Words

There are far too many things being said online and in the media and between people these days that are just disrespectful.  I am at a point where I just don't use certain words because they are disrespectful and in many cases, uncalled for.

Just today a friend posted something about an issue.  In the beginning words of the post, it started talking about liberal leftists.  Really?  Does anyone think that an article like this is unbiased or worthy of respect?  Does anyone think that talking like this is acceptable and human and normal?

I find it sickening in what is written and then shared without as much as a single thought to what those words mean.  I could have easily used an example where it was liberals talking about the other side.  It doesn't matter which side of the spectrum you fall on, there's always someone talking this way.  It happens in all walks of life and people from all different places.