“Sometimes you have to jump out of the boat.”– Rachelle Jeanty
One of my beloved correspondents sent me this hedgehog yesterday and happened to mention she was dealing with a heightened case of JOMO.
Unlike FOMO—the fear of missing out—JOMO is the exact opposite. It’s a state of ecstatic bliss (JOY!!) that comes from not paying attention to the news or the algorithms that right now want us to think we’re all doomed.
Social media companies know that titillating tales of woe are a potent tool for gaining eyeballs and capturing our attention. Their pre-programmed algorithms can best be described as a digitally-fueled, dopamine-releasing game of aint it awful!
By their very nature, algorithms have allegiance only to the past. They give us a story line that reflects what we paid attention to yesterday.
Built into their design is distraction and an agenda that prevents us from the realization that what they’re showing isn’t necessarily true. An agenda that fails to mention that these stats and data are but one tiny superposition in a universe with a bazillion better and more beautiful superpositions. An agenda that intercepts and blocks our inherent knowledge that IT. DOESN’T. HAVE. TO. BE. THIS. WAY!
Algorithms and their twisted narratives reduce us to mere spectators who have forgotten that our attention grows things, that our attention turns our thoughts into material reality.
We humans have agency and power over what is happening here. At any time, we can “miss out” and find the joy. We can stop scrolling, stop adding to the hysteria and turn our attention to the unseen power that has zero interest in the past.
Within each of us is that connection. We don’t need a computer or a modem or a FB profile. This ability to change the narrative, to imagine a new world is where the real levers of power lie.
Rather than attend to probabilities, algorithms and headlines reflecting yesterday, let’s open ourselves to a radical new mind shift, a new collective reality of peace and prosperity for all.
JOMO and #222 Forever!
Pam Grout is the author of 20 books including E-Squared, E-Cubed, Thank & Grow Rich and her latest book, The Course in Miracles Experiment: A Starter Kit for Rewiring Your Mind (And Therefore Your World).