This week's @ecotrain Question of the Week invites us to think about what our message to the world might be.
The prompt suggests that 'so many of us have messages we want to share' and no doubt these will be varying and different, and this further raises the issue of whether MY message might be relevant to everyone, or whether different people would benefit from different teachings/ messages from different people and at different times in their lives.
Before getting into whatever my message is, for a message to have ANY effect, the following AT LEAST need to happen:
- The message needs to be seen amidst all the other messages out there - that alone is challenge enough in this information saturated age.
- The message needs to be resonate with the person reading it IMMEDIATELY to spark an interest. This depends at least in part on my perceived authenticity.
- The message needs to have some value/ make sense/ be achievable/ yield results in order for it to be acted upon.
On getting your message seen....
Given that there is so much competition to be seen - a mere 'text form message' probably isn't going to be very effective - you're more likely to get your message out if you make your life your message (live like THIS) and then simply publicise your life.
I think this is what a lot of Yoga teachers do, and fitness instructors, tradesmen even.
After several years of blogging/ vlogging about your life you've got a degree of authenticity and people might start to listen to you.
You might say that part of my message to the world is 'get some land and grow things and live simply' - actually having something beautiful and grounded like said land makes it much easier to manifest the message rather than just talking about it!
ALSO, don't worry about how many people are going to see what you're doing - blog/ connect and eventually the handful of people that need to will find you, it's never going to be ALL about you after all!
On resonating
The same message coming from person A might be exactly what someone needs, whereas if that's coming from person B it isn't - maybe because of personal authenticity issues. A quick example - a previously obese person telling someone else to lose weight might have more of an impact than someone whose always been skinny. So there's no guarantee that my particular message to the world, to whoever in the world might hear it, is going to have an impact.
The message needs to have some value
Finally I guess there's something in 'small step messages' - e.g. not 'stop deforestation now', more 'plant this tree today' - I think the later might be more effective - it's positive, it's achievable, it's doing something - it doesn't leave you with a shoulder shrugging 'that's too big' response.
So what is my message to the world?
When I was younger this might have been something like 'smash capitalism', my 30s and early 40s i'd probably be pushing the 'do less, meditate more' vibe, during my entire life I'd also opt for a 'live sustainably and low-impact' message - and I still hold by all of that - but only as part of a wider movement.
However, the older I get the more inclined I am to say something like 'Trust yourself to find your own way through this mess, good luck'.
Oh, and don't get upset if no one listens.