Do We Practice What We Post?

I feel pretty fortunate that most of my Facebook friends are of a good-natured ilk. The majority of posts to which I'm privvy are positive, with little foul language or mean-spirited musings.


In fact, on any given day, I can usually scroll through a proliferation of virtual Post-It notes offering encouragement, enlightenment and self-help tips on loving myself, the benefits of meditation and connecting more deeply with my spirituality.


I value these easily digestible nuggets of nutrition for my soul. It's not so rare that I take one or several with me through my day as a personal mantra. And it's nice to be reminded that there are people out there who are thinking about, struggling with, questioning the same types of things that I am.


But I am questioning if that's enough. Enough to spark and sustain the real changes that are required of each of us, all of us, if we truly want to make the world a better place.


A friend recently pondered whether all of these bite-size gems of wisdom aren't actually ego parading around as enlightenment. Another friend, in an essay about how the women's spirituality movement is currently at a threshold, posits that the movement has become, in essence, an outgrowth or alternative form of individual therapy; she suggests that until we turn our attention from ourselves and to the greater healing that must occur within our culture and upon the earth, we can never truly attain individual healing.


These ideas speak to me deeply.


As I sit here typing a blog that may never be read, or that may be read by one or more people I do not and may never know, I ask myself what I am doing to bring the precepts of "enlightenment" into my daily life -- not solely for my own benefit, but in service to, and for the benefit of, others. And by others, I do not just mean other people, but the myriad sentient beings with whom we share our planet, and the planet itself.


I take small steps. I am trying to remove unwanted bugs from the house and deposit them outside, instead of crushing or vaccuuming them up. I am making an effort to purchase cleaning and cosmetics products that are environmentally safe and cruelty-free. I eat an almost exclusively vegetarian diet. I contribute financially and otherwise to local and global organizations that support social justice issues. I am attempting to be more prayerful, and to cultivate gratitude and tolerance on a daily basis.


And I do these things without ever really getting my hands dirty.


This is not to say that all attempts to be a better global citizen requires the dirtying of hands. But there is something to be said for going out into the world to practice what I preach, or that I would have preached to me - whether in the form of Facebook posts, or consciousness-expanding workshops, or the latest book on how to look/feel/do/be better.


I can pass on what I learn on my own journey to betterment by changing my profile picture to a bright pink bumper sticker with my Lesson for the Day; I can also volunteer my time and listen to someone else's story for a change, see where our stories connect, diverge, and connect again.


I can feel better about myself by counting the "likes" beneath my latest favorite quote from a revered spiritual leader; I can also cultivate integrity by speaking out against things I know are wrong and in doing so, risk being disliked.


This could go on for quite some time; my larger point is that in the time it takes me to search and post quotes and mantras that belong to others and which may somehow telegraph the state of my own evolution, I can take meaningful action in the world around me, putting these pearls of wisdom into daily practice, connecting me in deeper, more personal ways to the people and world around me.


So I try to gut check my intentions and motives before posting such items:


Am I sharing an inspiring thought for inspiration's sake in hopes that it may cause someone to have a change in perspective today? 'Cause that's not a bad thing, and sometimes, I need reminders for myself.


Is there something I want the post to say about me, and if so, does it speak as clearly and as loudly as my actions out in the real world? 


Am I showing you what I'm telling you? And if not, why not? Can I do more to bring my online inspiration into my daily life and interactions? 


Is there anything standing in the way of my moving from passive participation in a movement toward change, to a more active participation? If so, what can I do to remove the obstacle(s)?