A Wild Soul HOPE Reflection on Illusion, Numbness, and the Choice to Wake Up
There’s an eerie quiet that lingers in the glow of a backlit screen — the kind of silence that doesn’t soothe; but instead hums with the noise of a thousand unspoken thoughts. We scroll, swipe, and refresh in search of something: connection, validation, distraction, perhaps even peace.
But what if the digital world isn’t offering us freedom — what if it’s quietly replacing our reality with shadows?
The philosopher Plato wrote of a cave where prisoners mistook flickering shadows for life itself. Today, our screens have become that cave — glowing rectangles where filtered versions of people, success, and happiness play out like digital puppets. We sit entranced, not realizing we’re watching echoes of reality instead of living it.
A Real-Life Reflection:
Take Emily, a 36-year-old nurse and mother of two. She once used Instagram to connect with other moms navigating postpartum depression. Over time, her morning check-ins turned into midday scrolls… and evening deep dives into the lives of influencers she’d never met. Instead of feeling empowered, she began to feel inadequate — her body, her home, her parenting — none of it seemed to measure up. She didn’t realize she was comparing her behind-the-scenes to someone else’s highlight reel.
“Technology is not in itself the enemy,” says Sherry Turkle, MIT sociologist and author of Alone Together. “It’s how we use it that defines whether we deepen our human connection — or escape it entirely.”
Actionable Insight: Do a “Digital Mirror Check”
Pause and ask:
- Do I feel more energized or more drained after being online?
- Am I connecting or comparing?
- Would I say this out loud to someone in person?
Write your answers in a journal — it helps anchor awareness in the body, not just the mind.
The Dopamine Trap
We often chase the dopamine hit of notifications and “likes” without realizing we’re becoming emotionally fragmented. According to behavioral psychologist Dr. Adam Alter, author of Irresistible, many tech platforms are intentionally designed to keep us addicted. “Tech companies understand that unpredictability keeps you coming back. The reward system of social media is like a slot machine for your brain.”
Real-world consequences show up in subtle but powerful ways:
- You open your phone to check the weather and 30 minutes later, you’re deep into conspiracy reels.
- You avoid uncomfortable conversations by diving into TikTok, then wonder why your relationships feel shallow.
- You bring your phone to bed… but wake up more anxious and unrested.
Try This Now:
Put your phone in grayscale for 24 hours. It dulls the dopamine appeal and helps you become aware of compulsive checking.
Bonus: Use the acronym PAUSE before you reach for your device:
- Presence: Am I here?
- Awareness: What do I feel right now?
- Urge: What do I want to escape?
- Substitute: Can I do something nourishing instead?
- Engage: What really needs my energy?
Reclaiming Our Light
This isn’t a call to abandon the digital world. It’s a call to remember your power within it. Use tech as a tool, not a tether. Use your time online to create, learn, connect — not to numb, avoid, or self-erase.
“The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it.” — Henry David Thoreau
So what is your scroll costing you?
Embodied Practice:
Turn your phone off for one golden hour this week. Light a candle. Go for a walk. Journal. Call someone you love — not text, call. Reclaim that hour. Then ask:
Did I feel more alive than I do online?
Where the HOPE Begins Again
This journey — from digital numbing to embodied presence — is what The HOPE Method is all about.
In a world that constantly pulls us into overstimulation, distraction, and disconnection, the most radical thing you can do is take your energy back. Whether you’re healing from grief, trauma, burnout, or soul-fragmenting noise, the first step is this:
Choose presence over programming.
Choose to feel again.
Choose to remember who you are.
This is what I wrote about in When the Soul Remembers HOPE — the tender, courageous return to self after years of forgetting. HOPE is not just a feeling. It’s a frequency. It’s a sacred act of coming home to your own light.
So if today you feel scattered, stuck, or lost in the scroll — pause. Breathe. And take one small act of reclamation.
Because the moment you reclaim your attention from the cave…
you begin to remember HOPE.
—With reverence and resonance,
Sharon Lea, Wild Soul HOPE
Related Resources:
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