Personal Meditation No. 120

“Your beliefs are your actions. What you say is just what you think.”

Embrace the Within.

Yesterday began the annual teaching of influence techniques with an introduction to bias and fallacy. We discussed the Placebo Effect bias and Bandwagon fallacy. As the study of Animal Farm looms on the horizon for some of my students BUT the study of argumentative writing dominates most of the rest of the academic year. Influence and argument are rather important things to consider. They are all around you, all the time.

We are all influencers. That is one of the fallacies of the idea behind getting influencer status on social media. Some folks might have a bandwagon reach to more folks but we can all influence and do all influence every day at all times. And that is why our message is important. We have to concern ourselves with the brand we’re creating.

And brand isn’t just about what you say, it is about your actions. Folks can get away with saying one thing and acting another way for only so long. We see it in our daily lives and we see it in the media, having two belief systems, having two ways of being, never works out over the long haul. Folks can keep up appearances for awhile BUT, eventually, the truth always comes to light. Truth needs to find air.

Don’t take too much faith in our social media images. Folks are really good at hiding the parts they don’t want you to see. If they’re broadcasting their pain, then that is what they want you to use to identify them. If they’re broadcasting their perfection, then that is also what they want you to use to identify them. What I am struggling with right now, outside of Google Docs acting up and reconnecting all the time as I type this, is finding folks that are struggling and changing. A lot of folks are struggling. These fourteen days are really wearing on the nerves of folks that are political, apolitical, left, right, statist, anarchist, nice, mean, powerful, corrupt, meek, kind . . . shit, everyone is struggling because this is so illogical and never-ending right now. We’ve been doing fourteen days for nearly two years. Folks are struggling. BUT, not everyone is drowning.

I struggle to find folks that aren’t drowning because I am not drowning. And I am tired of standing in the vast water looking around to see folks splashing away in two feet of water when they could truly just stand up. BUT, it’s difficult to convince yourself that you’re not drowning when all you see is water and folks trying not to drown too. And I am struggling with finding folks that are standing.

Maybe you’re looking for other folks that are standing too. I think that’s one goal of me tapping away in the morning. I think it’s one goal of me getting serious about increasing my YouTube presence with putting up some more content now that the gardens are going cold. I think that’s one goal of posting these links on Twitter and Facebook. I think that’s one goal of having a Facebook page and a website. I just want to let folks that are struggling or striding, standing or drowning to know that you can stand because some of us already are. I hope you find your legs today and decide to stand. I hope you start to realize that the water isn’t that deep and there are plenty of arms around to help you up. I hope you make the change to struggling toward your dreams rather than struggling against the kiddie pool.

Have the day you want. I hope you find whatever you’re looking for.

#ThinkBetter #BeBetter #NoGodsNoMasters #MyBodyMyChoice #MakeYourselfGreatAgain