The Big Pause: Conspiracy

Photo Credit: Luciana Aranha

If you are a conspiracy theorist: spoiler alert (and disclaimer) and to save you from big head shakes and time wasted I am not a supporter of conspiracy theory so you may want to stop reading right here.

Most of the time I’m able to stay in my own little bubble, interpret however you’d like, but lately there have been several taps on the bubble that are causing me a bit of pause.

Thank you for the invitations to join the Ban All 5G and No Vaccines private Facebook Groups, but I’m not interested.

For those of you who sent me a DM on Instagram after I posted the photo of the digital permission form that the French government provides, with a note of caution that I should be careful because they are “collecting data,” I kindly ask you to consider the data collected on the app you sent the note from, and TikTok (Am I the only one without an account?), and all websites you clicked on today, and this platform, and the online shopping you did this week… Again, thank you for your concern, but I’m not interested.

To those of you voicing your concerns to me about a loss of civil rights right now, the ones who are leaving their apartments daily and enjoying the fresh air, I say to you please enjoy your walks while I stay inside and only leave when I have to.

I’ve received more articles, posts and videos on potential conspiracies lately, none of which land well in my system and I’ve just decided to stop opening them. Thank you, but I’m not interested.

Is not being interested an option?

Can we treat the potential conspiracies like we do other things and just agree to disagree or walk our own paths? Or is part of being a conspiracy theorist convincing as many people as possible that the conspiracy is true? (This is a real question, not rhetorical.)

About the pandemic…

I choose to focus on the fact that the earth is literally shaking less, that many species of wildlife are finally feeling freedom, that smog is gone, pollution and CO2 are down, views of the Himalayas can be seen for the first time in thirty years, fish can be seen in the canals of Venice and so many bodies of water have quieted to allow sea life to live more harmoniously.

I understand (although I do not have a detailed perspective) the financial, economic, political collective hardships and concerns. As a hard-working middle class female entrepreneur with incredible privilege I can feel the collective pain and suffering and I am doing my part to support women in business, families with less, mask supplies, yoga-teaching friends and teachers, small businesses in the US, and local businesses here in Paris.

I’m saddened for sure about the loss of lives, the pain and suffering associated with each one and the sacrifices happening on the front lines to help in all ways - because of this, I’m doing my part to stay inside, to wear a mask at all times, and to donate and serve in the ways that I can.

I trust as an American hosted in France that the government here IS keeping an eye on me, and I am happy to report that what they will find is a grateful guest following the rules and contributing in fruitful ways.

I’m not sure what happens in the nervous system of the average person who reads about conspiracy theory, or someone who is suspect to every law, rule and governmental official, but my body can easily go into a heightened state of: fear, anxiety, sadness, anger, disbelief…and overall unrest. I’m not suggesting that you ignore your beliefs to suppress anxiety, but I am sharing that by not subjecting myself to these ideas I feel my system is more at peace.

So, ignorance is bliss (for me).

I also feel strongly about walking on the earth trusting in love and positivity more than being suspect or defensive or assuming. This is where I remind you that I started this piece by sharing that I live in a bubble, and this series by sharing that I have a “Pollyanna” approach. For the most part this outlook serves me well, and I trust it isn’t only helping me to cultivate more positivity in my life, but it is also keeping my blood pressure and heart rate in a better place.

Oh, and there’s also the part about my faith…I’ll save that for another post.