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This is a text exchange with my friend Gina from almost 2 months ago. What happened next is…. I was like “you know what? let me join you, I’ve been on there too much too”. Gina and I had gone on a neighborhood walk maybe 6 months prior, during which I shared about my personal investment in working with my tech habits, and my curiosity about supporting others in the same. On that walk we discussed some of the layers so many of us are familiar with about social media - that we love it, that it’s addictive, that it can be hard to let go of because it gives us access and exposure to information, inspiration and IRL events!…we talked about how it can stir up COMPARISON in a big way. We talked about the compulsive checking-it-throughout-the-day that happens when we’re really hooked. lol, let me tell you- I was loving this conversation. Gina was INTO IT! I have been bringing up “tech habits” as a small talk topic at parties for 10 years since my first digital detox and let me tell you, not everyone finds it so compelling. ;) …. So back to October 25. We ventured into a 2 week shared experience of abstaining from social media, and we stayed in close contact with one another through text and voice memo along the way. It ended up being REALLY DEEP AND PROFOUND!!! …because we didn’t just “stay off the sauce” - we openly explored what was present for us along the way. The conversation wasn’t just around social media - it was around what was alive for us in the absence of the distraction machine. We also openly and vulnerably shared with each other when we either “fell off the wagon” in some way, or about the behaviors we found ourselves engaging in in lieu of the infinite scroll - (mine was…I was obsessively searching online for vintage embroidered tablecloths to be made into custom handmade clothes…) There was so much to unpack along the way!!! Even my tablecloth obsession became a rich jumpoff for self inquiry - which ended up being a gateway to connecting me a whole process around not just desiring, but needing more in-my-hands creative projects. This process is still in process ;), but a future email will likely explore it. The phrase that filled my entire body one day was… “I feel like I’m a maker who never became a maker”. ALL OF THIS TO SAY… stepping away from instagram TOGETHER, and vulnerably and boldly exploring what came up along the way, was really amazing. It was Gina who said “You should offer a container like this to other people! For January! People love doing healthy things in January!”… and so here we are.
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