Recordium Regenerati

For once, I’ve done what is now seen as unthinkable: I deleted my Facebook. Now, what possessed me to do such a momentous feat?

I simply grew tired of all the slop I was being fed.

The advertisements. The political putrescence. The hatefulness. The constant bickering and bashing and gaslighting. I could go on and on.

My firm belief still remains: social media is a cancerous drug and we are the fools who feed on it for the sake of being seen. It could, of course, be easily spoken that this blog in itself is a form of social media, but never will I inject the same substance that makes namesake medias what they are. It is my voice, and my voice alone, and that’s what I feel makes this blog unique. I don’t sell my opinion, I don’t plague thoughts with products. I simply am.

We are who we wish to become. An influencer, a politician, a teacher, titles heaped upon titles. At the end of the horizon we are all simply human and little else. Flesh and blood, skin and bone. Our first steps are taken upon the earth, and it is those steps that lead us to finality. In my view, that’s how I wish to be known— not through photos and posts and videos showcasing a life amidst thousands of others all trying to outdo one another, but through active presence.

I am here, I was here, I will soon be gone. A physical body, a tangible soul. I leave footprints behind and little else.

So then, should others follow my example and detach from what we view as mainstream media? Perhaps, but only if you view it as a positive. We cling to attachments and those very attachments are sacred. All the data I had on Facebook I took with me: photos, videos, archived chats from those no longer with us. That data will forever collect dust on a hard drive but the most important idea remains: I will cherish those fragmented memories even after the death of my profile and everything with it. And that’s okay.

It’s okay to detach. It’s okay to cling. It’s okay to want to start over again.

Me personally? I feel much more freedom now that I no longer have the violent need to see into everyone else’s lives and compare them to myself. I no longer have the need to drown in the endless fountains of dead-eyed people recording themselves and their lives. I fully intend to make the most of this.

Or, perhaps, I’ll end up consumed once more into the wave of social media platforms. Hard to tell, but it’s certainly going to be a learning experience.

I guess at the base of all this rambling is this lesson: do what you feel is right, whether it is to detach from mainstream culture or retain it. Never beat yourself up over others’ lives, you have only yourself to care for in the end. Cherish that fact and tend to your inner temple.