English Version | Editor's Letter: The Sunny Vibes Issue

14 Jul 2022
By Sofia Lucas

“We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light." - attributed to Plato

We live in a “good vibes only” type of culture, fostered by social media, which amplify the desire to show that we are always well and happy, even when it's not true. There is always value in a positive perspective, but when the word is “only”, it can become toxic. And one cannot confuse a positive attitude with toxic positivity, which denies or minimizes negative emotions and deals with anguish, which is part of everyone's life, with clichés and false guarantees, instead of empathy. We deny feelings of anger, sadness, fear, jealousy, and disappointment and, instead of feeling happy all the time, we become numb. We live our lives in fast forward, busy every second, so we never really need to be alone with our thoughts or feelings.

I am increasingly surprised by intelligent adults around me who feel depressed and excluded because other people's lives seem happier and more perfect than theirs. And yes, it does, but only in the stories that social media like Instagram tell us. Life is not easy for anyone, even less in the particularly insane moment the world is going through, and more than ever there is real power in bringing authenticity to our lives, letting go of filters, and letting the truly good energies flow, which normalize the expression of emotions and experiences, both positive and negative.

Regardless of one's beliefs or narratives, either more spiritual or more scientific, the truth is that we are all part of the same truth and of the same universe, governed by natural laws - everything in the world is composed of energy and we are all intimately connected in this ocean of moving atoms. Our thoughts, feelings, words and actions are all forms of energy. What we think, feel, say and do, in each moment, comes back to us, creates our reality, and also that of others. Energy moves in a circle, back and forth. The combination of the feelings, words and actions of everyone on the planet creates our collective consciousness, creates the world we live in.

It is true that there is so much good in the worst of us, and so much evil in the best of us, but there is an energy that connects us all, intimately linked to love and forgiveness, empathy and tolerance, faith and hope, that can fill minds and hearts. with the most powerful and positive energy of all – we can face any obstacle or difficulty we come across. We need each other to transform this immense chain of energy into something true and genuine, good and constructive, because the happiness that we all seek lives in balance, individual and collective. It is almost difficult, if not impossible, to achieve one without the other.

This Vogue issue is not a “good vibes only” poster, but one about the light we want in our life, without ignoring the shadows that are part of it, printed with the colors of the sun and the good energies with which we want to imprint your summer with.

Translated from the original on the Energy issue of Vogue Portugal.Full credits and stories on the print issue.