Looking Back at My Digital Journey

 

Many years ago, I started my internet life in the world of social media, as a content creator. Today, I’d like to take a moment to review that journey - not just the visible outcomes, but the quiet learnings along the way.

On a personal level, this path has been both rich and demanding. I’ve had the chance to offer light - small or great - into other people’s lives. Whether it was through reflections on present-day events, sharing about meditation, or simply exploring the many layers of spirituality, I’ve been able to speak from the heart. At the same time, I’ve been learning constantly: how to navigate the changing tides of social media, how to connect more meaningfully, and how to shape content in a way that reflects both truth and care.

Of course, it hasn’t been without challenges. The time and energy to plan, write, record and edit can be enormous. And with platforms changing their policies and algorithms, reaching people has sometimes felt like trying to speak through a thick fog. The message is there, but is it heard?

When I think of those who receive what I share, I want to believe that it brings something positive - a space to breathe, to reflect, to learn, or simply to smile. I imagine someone pausing in their day and feeling a little more grounded, some positive content enlightening their lives. That’s the quiet hope behind every post.

Yet, I can’t deny there’s a lingering silence. The absence of comments or interaction makes me wonder: Is there anyone there? Do they find what they’re looking for? It’s a strange kind of solitude, to speak so often and hear so little back.

Still, I continue - not for numbers, but for meaning. Because even if just a few people find a moment of peace, clarity, or insight through what I share, then this path has been worthwhile.

Times of hyperconnection: making friends

We live times of hyperconnection… Do you remember that time? I was listening to a very beautiful song in Spanish, Vida más Simple[1], and one of the lines was a coffee was the price of friendship.

Well, I don’t want to make you nostalgic, but the reality is the world we are living is completely different, but our needs remain more or less the same. And friendship is one of them.

Here are a few points about how to make friends at these times of emoticon greetings and very brief helloes:

• Make sure you are developing yourself in terms of career, personality or intelligence. Don’t try to use the idea of other people supplying you with what you can get by yourself.
• In fact, think of friends by common tastes, preferences or mindset, not as someone who can go to parties or who can sponsor a trip with you…
• Unplug yourself consciously every day for a few hours, and use that time for personal reflection or, if you are with other people, to listen to them and to talk from the heart.
• If you are REALLY with the other person, I mean, in person, forget your cell phone for a time. That will show them how much you value their friendship.
• If you are having a virtual relationship, as much as possible try to get together in person. Nothing replaces being side by side.
• When there is an argument, don’t close the door to that person. Remember the good moments with that human being and be thankful for them to be your friends.

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[1] To check on this song, sung by Nil Lara: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJoVHpY04IM

Happiness in times of Facebook

Sometime ago, a video started to circulate around. It is a short film called What's in your mind? and it touches the very delicate subject of happiness in times of Facebook.

Facebook and social network in general, is a new wave. Very little we know about their effect on our society, lifestyle and way to perceive the world. Let's go back a little and compare with other phenomena.

I will take as an example Brazilian soap opera. It is a very established business and part of Brazilian culture. Many times, the country stops working because something great is happening there - so, try to calculate the loss in terms of money and time, in an almost 200 million people country... What about its impact? It has influenced the way of speaking, fashion, values and customs all over the place, and songs that are part of their soundtrack become hits. Nobody realized this when it started to get importance. In fact, when I was a child, it was not considered manly to watch a soap opera... Now the impact is done and Brazilians coordinate even their schedules and routine according to the timing of their favorite soap opera.

Is it something similar happening in social networks? About two years ago, Facebook was the first webpage opened daily at people's workplace, replacing emails... Many people follow what others are doing, stories pass through very quickly and pictures allow you to feel you are part of something. It unites in a sense, seeing a friend's wedding you could not attend or listening to motivational stories.

But it creates a false sense of friendship. A person I know who don't have many real and deep friends, has more than 2,000 friends in his preferred social network... Problem is when bad situations arise; these 2,000 people will only press Like, or will give him a nice Comment. They won't call him or offer him a job.

I have seen the difference between people you know's comments and people you don't really know's comments... Sometimes, the first group is even better in words but it is normally the second group that extends their hand to help you in a time of need.

And what can happen in a society when people start to realize their so-called friends didn't come when they really need it? That is something we are still waiting to see, the psychological impact of finally discerning reality from "virtuality".

At this time of social networks reigning all over the world, it is very important to tell the difference between real sensations and the fake ones. It seems our minds are not clear about and we can cry the same amount if our aunt dies or watching a touching video someone posted in their wall. But, we see the difference... Don't we?

Happiness has three different levels. One is very external and is provoked by anything, manifesting as joy, cheers and screams; it is that happiness you felt when your team scored or your son got that wonderful job. All levels of happiness are good anyway, but this level cannot be sustained for long. After all, one day your team will not score or your son will fail to get what he wants. So, you cannot rely on this level to be happy; if you do so, your happiness will not be constant. In other words, when you get a Like or someone Shares your post, you get happiness; when they "unfriend" you, that happiness is over.

A second level comes from attainments. More than your team scoring; an achievement means something that will be with you forever. When your son graduated, that is something nobody can steal from him, and from you. He IS a lawyer... forever... This is a more permanent level and it can provide you happiness for a long time. Still... well, things happen, and people don't like lawyers that much. Sometimes, even while having the attainment in your hands, you can forget its meaning. And it is the meaning that generates happiness. It is a kind of happiness you want to post, to show everyone how happy you are.

The third level comes from inside you. It is the happiness a little baby shows in their face, smiling or looking serene and peaceful. It is that wonderful energy that makes the baby, and some wise souls, to laugh and clap, even though there is no apparent reason. We all have that happiness inside, and it is always there. We just need to tap into it to feel happy, no matter the circumstances around us. It is a kind of happiness you want to post, to inspire others to feel as happy as you are, because you know they are that happy. Always.

So, while enjoying the wonders of Internet, don't forget, ever, this third level of happiness. Enjoy your Likes and Shares, but look inside you and check constantly that wonderful treasure of happiness you have is being used for you and for others.

Ideas, Creativity and Innovation

One person was talking the other day on how FUN is losing its, well, fun. He was saying about how everyone nowadays is funny - there are funny pictures, funny videos and funny stories, all over the place! So, fun is less funny when is everywhere.

Is it like that with creativity? Possibly. Creativity has an interesting and easy path to follow through: it starts with an idea. The more original that idea - or, at least, the more original you think that idea can be used in reality - more that idea can become a spark of your own creativity.

However, originality is a must in that case. For instance, you can have an idea of cars moved with kinetic energy, let's say like a "bicycle-car". But, was that idea really original, or you just saw it at someone's pinterest board?

In this era of information, an omnipresent information, it is crucial for the sake of creativity to take time out and unplug. Then, allow the mind works on that wonderful idea that is just germinating. This is a good recipe for creativity: from that point, if you are able to turn it into something profitable, you will turn your own creativity into innovation. Profitable does not mean necessarily generating money, but something that you feel "richer" because of that, like a new way to give poor children hope in life.

Another way to keep creativity going on is to let yourself flowing in the waves of the internet ocean, taking inspiration of everything there. Sometimes, originality is not so much in imagining something nobody ever did, but imagine something that is already there in a different way. It is the typical case of IPod, which is a different version of Walkman... hard to connect both, perhaps, but it is the same principle: play music in a portable device.

However you think you can do, do it: keep your ideas, creativity and innovation alive. After all, wouldn't be interesting to have a "bicycle-car" one day?