Empty roads, closed businesses, work from home setups, online classes, deprivation of physical touch, mental health crisis, widened political awareness – these are just some of the things brought to us by the Covid-19 pandemic.
With this setup where one is prohibited to go out unless necessary, if we’re lucky enough, we often find ourselves maximizing our technology – we might be inventing new things, doing some retail therapy, watching vlogs, learning a new Tiktok dance, exploring some podcasts, and etc.
Although we mostly view the world through the screen of social media and a lot of people have the chance to lay down their opinions, we are given the power to choose and criticize who among the influencers will shape our daily living and thus, from the term itself, influence our lives.
One of the several influencers who may be helpful to us during these trying times is Ayn Bernos – a vlogger, Tiktok superstar, entrepreneur, and podcaster who talks about self growth, improvements on language and grammar, confidence, and business matters.
What this “influencer” is telling us
““Hello! This is your daily reminder that you need to be kinder to yourself and you need to be able to forgive yourself. If there was one word that I can use to accurately describe my relationship with my self, it would be FORGIVING…
…I just realized over the years that the more I berate myself and the more I punish myself for the mistakes that I’ve made, the less likely I am to fix those mistakes and so instaead of focusing all the things that went wrong, I now just focus on the things that I can correct…
…Okay here’s a challenge for you, the next time you find yourself saying ‘I should’ve done this,’ try replacing that with “How can I do better?”” – Ayn on one of the Tiktok videos that she publishes.
Hearing these words of empowerment from an Influencer sounds purifying, right?
Aside from these topics of self love, Ayn also shares her lifestyle and her advocacy on abolishing Colorism or the discrimination against people with a dark skin tone.
With this, she became a co-podcaster of Rizza Lana-Sebastian on a podcast titled “Camp Confidence Radio” which is made available on Spotify.
Self-reflection as a way of communicating with God
Now, some of you may be wondering, “How can this information and sharing about Ayn Bernos and her talks could be helpful during this season of reflection and commemoration of God’s love for us?” The answer is simply self reflection.
In times like these where we seek for inner peace and meaningful conversations with God, it is very essential for us to meditate and reflect on ourselves.
We find answers to our what if’s and hopes. We talk to God about what He wants for us, how and why are we deserving of His love that He was able to offer His only begotten Son for us, sinners.
Learning about ourselves is the first step in becoming a human who follows the path of Jesus Christ.
As part of God’s commandment that we must love our neighbor as we love ourselves, when we first love ourselves, everything follows – we become deeply connected with God and we socialize with our fellow Christians, preading the good for and in each and everyone.
Choosing the right “influencer”
The fact that Social Media is accessible to everyone, anyone has the equal opportunity to stand out from the rest. Therefore, it is our free will to accept someone as our “influencer’.
In choosing the right influencer, we seek someone who connects with us, who shares the same interest as ours, whom we could relate to, and whom we validate their opinions in life.
Practically speaking, we want to be influenced by someone who would have a great impact in our lives may it be through entertainment, empowerment, and or inspirations.
Our chosen influencer must be our leading path towards our ideal selves.
Jesus Christ as our main influencer
Amidst of all the trends and influencers that shape us in our daily living, in this Holy Week this year, may we remember that our main Influencer is not found in this digitally-mediated society full of earthly possessions, but is found in our hearts and that is Jesus Christ.
If we’re bothered, we talk to Him. Before stepping up into something, we consult to Him.
It is in our hearts where Jesus is found.
We just have to take a moment of silence, to step back, to find that inner peace and after this, we will know why and how He influence our lives.
With His undying love for us humans and with His obedience to the Father, Jesus must be someone we aspire to be, someone who we look up to in our daily living.
May we look at our ideal selves as Christ who’s ready to sacrifice for the good of all and who does everything to be a good child of our parents.
Often times, we’re too consumed of following the path of our favorite social media influencer, but today, as we commemorate Holy Thursday, let us not forget to follow the path of our lives’ main influencer, Jesus Christ.
There’s no other fulfillment that grants our hearts’ deepest desires other than living a life for Christ, through Christ, and with Christ.
