Our newsfeeds are chock full of words of encouragement and positivity.
“If you change nothing, nothing will change.”
“Inhale confidence, exhale doubt.”
“You is kind, you is smart, you is important.” (One of my favorites because it has a kitty).
They are awesome little poofs of inspiration that make us smile at our computer or mobile screens. We might pause to like it or favorite it, maybe event comment or share. If we’re really excited we make it our profile or cover photo.
I’ve started to feel like they are meme bombs or litter though. They feel like lost hope or acts of desperation sometimes.
How much are any of us absorbing them? Really integrating them into our lives?
Did we share the last one in a moment of uplifted hope and let out a sigh of “feel good”? But how long did it last? How often did its message affect us throughout the day (when we weren’t connected to a social media)? How did it impact our interactions with friends and family – and more importantly – strangers?
Our interweb existence has created a connectivity on a level never known but are we using it to connect within?
More often than not we don’t retain the nugget of wisdom we felt so attracted to. It slips through our fingers like sand, disappearing down the scrollbar.
In yoga practice, mantra and chanting, serve to help us find single-minded focus and meditation.
“Om mani padme hung” – the compassion chant.
“Om shanti, shanti, shanti” – the peace chant
Mantra, repeating the phrase either internally or externally for a period of time, is like a re-seeding process that infuses us with the intention of the words to be reflected in our actions and words and hearts.
How about we try to extend our practice into our memes? Mindful memes.
Make your next inspirational meme a mantra for that day.
The moment you see it and share it, you don’t share another thing that day. Just repeat that meme to yourself as a mantra. Maybe make it a repeated notification on your phone, put a sticky note on your dashboard, print it and hand it out to people.
Notice how it affects the rest of your day when you’re in line at the grocery store and someone bumps into you with the cart because they are on the phone and didn’t notice you, and you repeat to yourself, “I’m sorry I annoyed you with my unconditional love.”
Bring it to mind when you’re disappointed at work with a project or are at odds on your career path, “Do not overthink it. Breath and have faith that all will work out for the very best.”
Say it at the dinner table as grace that night before you break bread with your family: “The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another.” Then notice how it the dinnertime conversation might change and not linger on negative things, but sharing positive and uplifting things from our day.
Make the next meme really matter, mindfully.
