I know it’s been quiet around here this month but I’m busy working on new content, running for elected office as Town Clerk, and getting some home renovations finished up. You’ll see more content in April from me 🙂
In the meantime, please do check out the very lovely and kind post on Anima Monday. We chatted about ancestors and Druidry. I thought the questions were very thoughtful and hit home on some of the things I really hope we can chat more deeply about online in the future.
Here’s a little snippet. . .
At Anima Monday we see animism as being not so much about the idea that individual animals and plants have souls (they can) but that animism is more like a verb, a connection with the world around us. Unfortunately, many people suffer from alienation and feeling disconnected. While those feelings are real I wonder if you would agree that this is also in part a terrible illusion – that we are all connected whether we see it or not. What has been your experience of social media as a tool for connecting people with each other and to the land?
Illusion is a tricky word to use when describing feelings. I can agree that many people suffer from alienation and feelings of disconnection. Those feelings cannot be an illusion. The source of those feelings though can be. I do agree that we are all much more connected and united than it appears at first glance!
Social media is a useful tool in providing connection because it allows us to actively seek out those who are similar to us. We can meet and speak with people who also feel “other” in the same way that we do. Social media has also opened up our society to new ways of communicating. YouTube videos reach hundreds and thousands of people at once and feel very similar to sitting down for tea with a friend. Instagram gives us a peak at the best version of ourselves that we hope to be. Connection can come in all sorts of forms now.
Of course, there is the flip side to social media as a tool for connection. People can easily curate feeds that only show those who agree with them. This leaves civil public discourse and compromise feeling further away than ever! It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the social media and onslaught of shiny new tweets forgetting that there are trees and birds and air to enjoy, too.
It’s a great tool that I thoroughly enjoy, but I’m mindful of finding balance in its use in my life (like all things). Read more. . . .
Esoteric Moment 