Lose Yourself

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My instagram app is my favorite button on my phone. It's like a happy little window into the lives of my friends and family. I love seeing shots of the happy moments, yummy meals, nights out, friend get togethers, pretty nature shots, new outfits, craft projects, and home improvements.

The last two posts on my personal feed are pretty boring... one of them is a screen shot of my fitbit app showing the 10.5 hours of unrestless sleep I got the other night, and the other is a gas receipt from costco where I filled up my tank with gas priced at 1.839 per gallon! Boring... but truly two things that made me genuinely happy and grateful.

Some have argued that what we post on instagram isn't real life and that when we only share the positive stuff we are advertising a false perfect life... but I don't see anything wrong with that. I see it as an app that shares with me what my friends and family are grateful for and what makes them happy throughout the day.

I liked these two posts about what really goes on in instagram photos:
what I instagrammed vs what was really happening
the real deal

I am the type of person who needs time alone to recharge and feel refreshed, if I go a few days or even a full week without some alone time I start getting cranky with people and start craving a bubble bath (classic introvert). It's nice to know this about myself so I don't start blaming those around me for my crankiness... I will just find somewhere to be alone at. Sometimes driving home from work I will stop somewhere, at a park or trail head, and sit in my car or a park bench for 15 minutes, sip my diet coke and browse my instagram feed. Going through all the posts I've made is a guilty pleasure that for some reason makes me feel more organized in my mind. Once I've made time to sit and stare at my instagram without interruptions and without feeling like I am ignoring someone, I feel like I can move along with my day and accomplish all the things I need to.

I think there is the tendency to lose ourselves (our personality) in our social media accounts... we worry what people will think of us, or how many likes we have received. I would say, use it instead to lose yourself in what makes you happy... if a staged picture of pretty colorful objects makes you happy, if a vague clever caption makes you smile, if you post the only good thing that happened to you during the day and it was when you paused to see how adorable your cat was sleeping... then do it. It's like finding joy among the mundane. That's why I instagram so much on vacation... there is so much joy to share.

Do something every day that makes you happy, even for a minute, then carry on...