Have you ever fallen into an Instagram rabbit hole? You know, when you are 7 layers deep looking at the pictures of some person you don’t know who is apparently living their best life now and also happens to be nothing short of hilarious. Recently, I was laying in bed and had accidentally found myself down a rabbit hole of the ‘Gram. I had be-bopped my way over to a friend’s pictures (and by friend I definitely mean someone that I used to know but still like to occasionally stalk on social… don’t judge me- you do it too.) I was four layers deep, on the page of some girl I definitely didn’t know, looking at pictures of them golfing on one of the most stunning golf courses I’ve ever seen in my life. Almost two months off the best social media hiatus I’ve ever taken and here we are.

FACEPALM.

Also, ugh.

I am zero things if not entirely friggen’ human.

I laid there annoyed with myself and I started to feel shittified… (that’s a word I decided means the process of turning into a living-breathing turd.) I put my phone down and went downstairs to sit on the couch next to Hubbz. I needed some reality. Living, breathing, human contact. As I nuzzled my way next to him he looked over at me and said “what did you do?” HA. After 16 years together this man knows me like the back of his hand. I told him about my trip down the Instagram rabbit hole and in classic Hubbz fashion he told me he was glad I made it out alive and to stay off social media because it’s no good for my brain. It would be hilarious if it wasn’t so totally accurate.

Sometimes in the social media scrolling I forget that all I am seeing are snippets of highlight reels. The great family photos, the vacations, the selfie with perfect lighting. We don’t see the screaming kid with snot dripping from their nose who 100% does not want to take a family photo. We don’t see the fight that happened leading up to the amazing vacation. We don’t see that it’s actually the 37th selfie with four filters and contrary to your caption, no, you didn’t just wake up like that. Oftentimes we don’t see the real lives behind the facade of peoples social feeds. I want to be clear and say I am not “social shaming” us for posting the highlights. It’s human to want to post the fun and wonderful parts of our lives. Take a galavant through my insta feed… Bruh, I am the guiltiest party here. I guess what I am getting at is that while life is beautiful it’s not all sunshine and rainbows and that’s so important for us to remember (and I know for myself that’s the easiest to forget.)

While I adore connecting on social media, can I be super candid and say that the downside for me is the comparison game that I begin to play. Realtalk? That game sucks and is always a lose-lose. Either I am feeling like crap about my life because I am not where other people are or I am feeling overly good about my life because “at least I am not them.” Ugh. Ick.

In a recent and fascinating conversation with an incredibly wise human I was reminded that we are each put on this Earth to fulfill OUR destiny. OUR purpose. OUR storyline. There have been times (let’s be honest and say more times than I would like to admit) that I have seen other people’s lives in photos and been envious because theirs seemed way better/ cooler/ fancier/ more exciting than mine. Somewhere along the way I had forgotten that my job on this planet is to take the life I have been given and do something with it that only I can do. (#DezerizeTheWorld) The same is true for you, sweet friends. You were given gifts, talents, abilities that only you can do and while that may seem all “rah-rah, feel-goody” it’s actually the truth. When I use my own life as my measuring stick instead of someone else’s I am humbled and mind blown, with palms up to Jesus for where I am at in my life. There is a genuine happiness that replaces an envious heart.

Sweet friends, this is just a simple reminder, as you galavant through your life and your social feeds, we are all on paths that are meant for us. If you are like me, you might forget that and start using other people’s measuring stick to measure where your life should be. Let me be the first to kindly tell you… Cut that out, Homie! Each and every one of us was born for such a time as this, with our gifts and our blessings, inside of our story. Everyone has ups and downs. Some we see and some are kept hidden. We all have our battles that I like to believe are more alike than they are different.

I think back to the Instagram rabbit hole I went down recently, and my mind floats back to the girl that I don’t know on that pristine golf course in a very sunny part of the world that makes my soul dance. I don’t bet, but if I did, I would put a lot of money on the line to say she has her struggles- just like me, just like you. We can’t measure our lives by the highlights that make the social media cut. Life is beautiful but it can also be hard and that is super ok to admit out loud.

Sweet friends, now more than ever, it is so important that we throw kindness around like confetti and offer grace and mercy to the people in our lives. Even to the ones that you think don’t need it – especially to the ones that you think don’t need it – because sometimes they are the ones who need it the most.