Good-bye Instagram, see you never...

A glimpse into the world we forgot about after 8 weeks social media-sober...

Hello and happy Friday. Trust you’ve had a wonderful few days. It’s been light at work, everyone seems to be either injured, sick or on vacation. More on that later…
Today’s thoughts come off the heels of a few people reaching out asking how I’m doing.

For context, I’ve pulled myself off Instagram since December 1. So the expectations of me responding in a reasonable time is totally fair. And no, despite my hope that people could read my mind, I left (mostly) unannounced. So I can understand the confusion. Regardless, I’m off Instagram (and loving it)…

I’ve tried this type of social experiment before. I’m sure if you’re reading this you have at least considered a detox… And I want to be clear, this is old news. We all know how much time we waste on social media. I’ve just been on a real integrity kick these days, doing the things I say I’m going to do. So, here we are.

Scratch that itch…

For me, social media was a bad itch. I’ll go days away from it, feel good about myself, get lonely, feel the pressure to perform and then feel the need to return. I’ll make up some story that I do my business through there, or it’s a place for me to connect.

Ha. What a crock of shiitake. 🍄

Connect?

No, see… connection happens through the real life experiences shared by one another, and especially deepened when those experiences are challenging or foundational in the forming of character. I have lived now for 38 years in this body. I know connection when I see it. It’s certainly *not this… 👇

Photo by NordWood Themes on Unsplash

They’ll sell you connection though... Just like ads that make you want to punch your neighbour in the face because he supports the latest buzz word created specifically to divide the very same people who in another country, become best friends because they cheer for the same football club… Funny that?

Social media is anything but social. It preys on the ego. The need to perform. The need to feel worthy from the lens of the other. When in fact, you can go outside, take ten big inhales of fresh air, then hold your breath for ten seconds and get the same dopamine fix without all the messy relationship strain and fear of missing out.

That’s connection for me. How about you? What’s one thing you do when you’re feeling disconnected? 👇

What I’ve learned from 8-weeks off the hamster wheel… 🤳

Let me preface this by saying leaving social media is bold. It’s courageous. Not from a hero mentality. From a social lens. “Everyone” who’s anyone is on the ‘gram. So I understand the hesitation to disappear into the forest and be with the animals. It may even be crippling if you rely on that medium for actual money… this decision is *not for everyone. Assuming you’re a grown-ass adult reading this, you can make the decision for yourself. Maybe social media does feed your soul… in some strange fantasyland I wish it did for me. However, these last two months have taught me the value of being Insta-absent.

My First 5 Reasons I’ve Broken Up with Instagram

Here’s the first 5 ‘cause I wanna get rolling with my day. There’s a whole series in here though so stay tuned for more as I unpack this experience…

1. I’m no longer ‘on call’. Micro-stresses add up. I grew to loathe my own friends… screening dms and feeling obliged to respond to memes, dms, comments… it was so wasteful of my magic and energy. I’m unwilling to do that anymore.

2. I self-select who and what I share my time and energy with. Now, sure I love a lot of the people who we're left in the dark while I have been off Instagram… and, the important people have my number. And they’ve reached out. And that’s been nice.

3. I have more time to unwind, think and create. For example, I wrote a song front to back while a party was going on upstairs. It captures the feeling I used to have about missing out on being invited to everything. It’s called “Alone” and it might make the cut for the new album. Actually, better yet... you tell me… help me build the album. Click here to be taken to cast your vote on one of three tunes I’m considering adding to my record. Weigh in below 👇

4. My health has improved tenfold. It’s ridiculous how much bandwidth was being eaten up by silly algorithms. Instead of just living life or playing music or whatever, I felt that I needed to set up the right shot, put the perfect caption together, share it on all my social media platforms… yadda yadda… and for what? The feeling of important? I dunno. Haha. Since December my biological age has gone down from 34.7 to 32 years old. Trending toward 30 by the time I’m chronologically 39. That’s a lot of numbers and… I sleep more, I train harder and I have a smaller number of much more fulfilling relationships to actually connect with about the real parts of life.

5. My music is of integrity. My creation station has been productive, enjoyable and deep. I no longer feel the pressure to be anything with my art. I can just, be. It feels so much more natural. I’m working on a live set for a little event I’m playing for some close friends on February 1st. And instead of talking about it online, I’m preparing for it and only inviting the folks who I imagine would really enjoy it, by hand. The show is focused around everything I just talked about. Deepening connection, taking time to reflect and get out in nature, rest, recover, eat good food… nourish yourself. And keep your energy and power for the things that matter. So while part of me wants to keep it really intimate, if you think that’s something you’d enjoy, public tickets are below. 👇

   Here’s a sneaky peek of me working through some ideas for my live set. If you’re new here. The music I make is more for meditationa nd journaling and things like deep rest, recovery and performance. I alos make cool alt rock songs, but that’s a different thing. I just got some new gear this week and wanted to figure out how it all flowed together. Practice, y’know…?

   On that note…(haha, see what I did there…?)
   I just got word from a little bird that Substack is launching something called Substack TV. Check it out 👇

   Introducing the Substack TV app, now in beta

   What a cool idea, right? And what a good spot to let little improvised virtual sonic meditation concerts live?

   Question for you:

   If I made these little shows available on a platform that’s *not Instagram (maybe here, maybe on Grouped…), would you come check it out or tell a friend? 👇

This is why you’re getting sick…

Like I said. Nearly all my athletes have been sick since the holidays. This week is especially bad. I know why…

So to close today, I’ve got a prompt for you. I wanted to highlight some more gangsters in my world, and this one comes from the lovelies over at Rejuvenating Health Podcast, a show I’ve been producing for 3 years… (one of my side quests… 🎙️ ) Please drop a comment if you’ve got some tips on staying immune while everyone else seems to be dropping like flies in mid January….

How do you keep yourself healthy during cold and flu season post holidays? 👇

Check out the latest episode from The Rejuvenating Health Podcast here: This Is Why You're Getting Sick...