On Being Invisible

As I get older and witness more and more of the fading ‘stars’ around me (celebrities coming and going; my own identities and experiments losing momentum), I notice what we might learn from our older generations and other ‘invisible’ societies.

What do I mean by invisible?

…essentially, those seen and heard only by others in their close physical realm (away from tik tok, instagram, twitter, etc etc). These individuals are becoming rare and, more than that, usually only exist through habit rather than doing so as a conscious choice.

I want to be invisible, as we all do, in the sense that any interaction could or should be truthful and real or not at all. None of us talk about each other in the same way as we do face to face, just as carrying out one’s actual job is far different than advertising, showcasing and promoting it online.

Who knows how many more useful conversations and hours of work might occur if we were forced into the ‘real’ thing; invisible to all parties except those who really, really mattered.

Personally, I’m still of the belief that social media and the internet at large might serve to make us even more authentic! It has that potential, and in moments I’m incredibly grateful to have such access to people, places and practices I otherwise may have never found out about. It’s easier than ever to learn something new, to express oneself in any form and to have an audience available at any time.

The question remains: Is it actually useful? Or rather: Does it actually serve us as individuals and as a society?

For example, had I been born at a different time, I may never have discovered Ido Portal’s Movement Culture, learned that ultra-running was a ‘thing’, practiced Buddhist meditation techniques in India, gone trail running in South Australia or studied Thai Massage in Chiang Mai. But I’d have been more likely (I expect) to learn Floor-laying skills from my Father and/or Reflexology techniques from my Mother. I’d probably have way more friends in my hometown than I do currently also.

There is such a thing as ‘too many’ life opportunities and ‘too much’ exposure to information I believe. Just as it’s pretty useless for me to know about civil wars happening in Mongolia or East Africa from the news (living in the UK myself), it’s arguably just as pointless for me to have access to thousands of courses, jobs and different lifestyles across the entire world.

“The way we do anything is the way we do everything” (Martha Beck)

To be invisible, in the best sense of the word, is to pick your poison. We all have to put ourselves to work - we must direct our energy and attention somewhere! For the most part, it doesn’t matter where we direct it, providing it’s useful and for the greater good.

Admittedly that’s no easy feat, to determine how to be genuinely useful; but spreading ourselves too thin, and talking more than ‘walking’, is rarely the way to go.

One thing that being mostly ‘invisible’ has given me is the ability to notice my own insincerity; to detach from the blog or video or workshop I’ve posted and recognise how true to myself that content really is. Enough hours or days or week away from the web helps me to (perhaps inevitably) return with a clearer head and more honest heart. For this reason I rarely engage in threads of conversations - I’m usually in another reality (the ‘real’ world) by the time I’ve seen anyone’s response.

Any advice or argumentation given in this blog, of course, should be treated ‘with a pinch of salt’. I’m as introvert, insecure, confused and/or delusional as the next guy on any given day - my personality and past experiences inevitably influence my philosophy on such things.

I cringe at the very stuff (online) that I also produce, and I judge myself as violently as I judge others. The online world is a monstrous mirror that can enlighten us when seen for what it is, and destroy us when not.

Like most ‘Godly’ things, caution must therefore prevail, and the 1% rule applies: give 1% of your time and energy only to your visibility - remain invisible for the other 99% of the time. That could be the only way to survive (and thrive!) in today’s world.

Now it’s time for me, again, to disappear…

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