Keep Moving
Yesterday afternoon in Sydney we experienced a gorgeous sunset.Like, a 'social media and radio and news bulletins lit up with hundreds of photos' kind of gorgeous. Everywhere I turned, people were taking a moment out of their afternoons, right around the busy peak hour, just before dinner time, to celebrate a natural beauty.It was a brief shared moment across a city of more than 4 million people. A city that often feels as though it's losing its heart. Hundreds of thousands of us all stood together (apart) and enjoyed something just for the sake of beauty. It just felt a bit...special.But then I started seeing other #sunset comments on social media:
"Geez, we get it. There's a beautiful sunset. So what?"
"So glad to see my feed filled with #sunset photos. Not."
Come on.Are we so self-absorbed that we get annoyed at a beautiful sunset? Or even at people who aren't us enjoying said sunset? I mean... Really? Are we that fond of feeling pissed off that we take aim at a particularly pretty end to a Monday?I have to say, I'm seeing this more and more online. People engaging in negative behaviours that are not only completely unnecessary, but unhelpful and often detrimental to their own happiness (not to mention that of others).Rather than skimming over something we don't care about, or ignoring a status update that we disagree with, we are engaging and getting indignant and becoming easily offended, all because someone else has the audacity to think differently to us.Here's an idea: just keep moving.Keep scrolling. Unfollow if you must. By all means, roll your eyes and sigh in the privacy of your own home. But honestly, when it's trivial stuff, just move on.Part of slowing down and living a more contented life is stopping to pay attention to those easy-to-miss moments of beauty, but another part is knowing when to opt out of the crap. Knowing when to keep moving, when to steer clear of drama, when to ignore negativity or even just dissenting opinions. Particularly when there's nothing you will say that will make one shred of difference.There are absolutely battles worth fighting, but an over-shared sunset ain't one. Nor is an inspirational quote, a movie trailer or a braggadocious (it's a word - truly) selfie. Just keep moving.