Shades Of Grey

Someone posted a lie about me in the comment section of one of my posts last week and others repeated it until it became “the truth”, not because it was the actual truth, but rather because there were enough people saying it so it had to be true. It gave me an insight as to how conspiracy theories start, how dangerous the herd mentality is, how our convictions blind us and how 'cancel culture' is used as a weapon. I know it wasn't personal. If you look at the comment section of nearly anything on social media you'll see people arguing and being nasty to each other.

It can literally be over a cat video! Most don't even bother reading what other people write, some don't know what they're talking about but it doesn't stop them from shouting their opinions and being certain they are right.

I miss conversation. I miss people actually listening to each other and disagreeing but still having a debate. I fear social media has killed all of that and I think it's very sad. The world is so much more than YES OR NO - in fact, some of the best things happen in the MAYBE section (and let's not forget the I DON'T KNOW section which is also pretty exciting). Although I’m used to the online abuse that comes with being a public figure, especially one who doesn’t shy away from tricky topics, I found the whole experience challenging, especially when the name calling started and the threats to leave.

In the end I had to remind myself why I started this platform to begin with. For me it's always been about trying to make the world better. One of the ways I do it is by being authentically me, even if it sometimes means going against the grain. I think the only thing we can do in this world is be ourselves and I would hope that part of that would be having empathy, the ability to have a conversation even with those we disagree with and at the very least - manners.

So anyway, I've been meaning to make this video for a while and this was the perfect excuse. And as one of the amazing members of this community said to me in private “I hope when the sun hits your face and you're surrounded by nature you know what really matters”. And I do, I really do 🙌🏻 #love