The "Delete Button" - Cleanser of Email Inbox or Mind and Soul?

The "Delete Button"

By Enas Elmoshands

There is a sense of relief that comes with cleaning out your mail inbox, a feeling of, ‘Ahh. Now I can relax.’ A feeling that could only be perfected if we had a cup of tea in our hand, a sleep mask, and a couch to unwind on. When that delete button is clicked, we are de-cluttering our space of unnecessary things, the way we would our closet. It’s as if we are starting over, making room for new messages and opportunities. Time does not matter; the email we receive in January is just as erasable as the email we receive in May. The only matter of importance is the message and the sender of the message. It’s pure detoxification; only, there is no starvation or consumption of liquid vomit juices involved. Can I get a hell yeah? So if we are so willing to rid ourselves of technological and bodily toxins, why are we so hesitant to detoxify our lives? Why is it we accept poisonous things in our lives when we can’t accept those things in our interspace? Why can we erase the hateful email our friend sent us one week ago but we can’t erase the friend who sent it? Why can we let go of once important information when we can’t let go of once important experiences (keep in mind letting go does not equal forgetting)? We all know the past has an effect on who we are, on our past (the we interpret it), our present (the way we live it), and our future (the way we look towards it). We don’t need to be psychology majors or had to have read nine hundred pages on Sigmund Freud to know that tidbit of information. Yet, the knowledge is pushed to the back of our heads because we simply can’t handle the struggle it would bring if we face it- if we face the pain, the anger, the guilt, and the aching nostalgia we have come to associate our past with.

We’re living in a constant-as stagnant as it gets. Yet, we have the illusion that we’re moving forward. But how can we move forward when our feet are buried years beneath neglected conflict. That hateful friend who holds the punishing power to make you feel unworthy is just one layer of the many layers you have yet to peel back. I am not an expert; I am simply a human being, not a girl-not yet a woman (where’s Britney Spears when you need her?), a daughter, a sister, a cousin, a friend, and a student. The only expertise I have to offer is that which I learned from personal experience. We all have our stories to tell. However, if that is so, how do we express repressed story? How do we bring to life the feelings we refuse to feel? If we don’t walk out tomorrow morning, and breathe in the fresh, polluted air, and let the warmth of the sun hit our face, and if we aren’t mindful of what’s going on now, we will never tell our story the way it is supposed to be told; the way it deserves to be told. It will be clouded by denial, repression, and confusion. For we never took the time out to look back and pick away at the seams, to rip apart the clothes, the bags, to throw away the shoes, to remove all the excessiveness of our canvas and see it for what really is- what we made it to be without all the distractions. If it’s just a plain white canvas and you see nothing-you should rethink what you thought was so right. Yet if you stand back and that canvas is bursting with so much color that it burns your eyes with its boldness, and hurts your heart with its fullness, then that is the moment where you can feel as relieved and detoxified as you did the moment your inbox read, ‘empty.’

Tomorrow is today and today is yesterday. This cannot wait. Your life cannot wait. You cannot wait. The more you put yourself on hold, the more you put friends, family, work, school, and reputation before your own needs, the harder it is to revive what has been dead for so long. There is hope for everyone, in everyone. The opportunities are boundless; the things you discover about yourself will amaze you. You will finally meet that girl or boy or woman or man everyone’s been talking about. But you have the advantage- you get to become that person’s best friend. You get to become you and come back home to who you really are. This all sounds wonderful, doesn’t it? But you’re probably wondering how on earth you’re supposed to achieve such fantasticalness. Here are a few tips I’ve learned:

1. Meditation: Okay. DON’T PANIC. I know the thought of meditating scares you. Heck, it scares me and I’m starting to get the gist of it. But don’t rule this out- getting in touch with your physical being will lead to your oneness as a whole. A simple twenty minutes a day (I prefer the morning to get a good start) will do wonders. Don’t be surprised if you feel as if there is an eternal golden meadow in the pit of your stomach: that’s what we like to call inner peace.
2. Physical Activity: I don’t mean to make this sound like some sort of diet plan but being active does help. I don’t mean you need to go to the gym and labor away for two hours; no, a simple ten minute walk outside will make you feel good. There’s something about being in tune with nature that inspires us to be in tune with ourselves.
3. Alone Time: This does not equal isolation; having a social network is healthy. Yet, we still need down time to relax and be alone with our thoughts. Our thoughts should not scare us; we should not view them as “mind-rape.” Our thoughts are collections of our goals, ideas, beliefs, and so on. We need to come to terms with the way our mind works and if we don’t like it, change it.
4. Limit Internet, Phone, TV Usage: It’s entertaining, amusing, time consuming, poisonous crap. Believe it or not, all those weight loss and skin care commercials seep in to your brain and affect you. The media’s obsession with perfection affects you. Other people’s drama affects you. Facebook and Twitter affects you. And it’s rare for it to be a positive effect.
5. Optimism: I’m not asking you to be Ponyo here. If you giggle and smile more than you speak, then you need to seek professional help. I’m just asking you not to be so hard on yourself. Don’t be your own worst enemy; it’s not good for your mental health. Be the impartial observer who is curious about the emotions and situations you’re experiencing. Let everything sink in without the harsh reprimand you usually serve yourself.

These are just a few tips that I hope will aid you in your journey to you.