Self Illusion

After a gap of few years, I thought of activating my digital social platform which I could not be connected with due to multiple reasons.

With a bundle of curiosity I first clicked on my best friend's link from my list, was glad to witness her beautiful, beaming, and hooking smile, her picture-perfect family, adorable pets, and posh villa. The first thought that appeared to my mind was ‘she is so blessed to have a perfect life.’ Then I started going through some of the posts that I missed lately. The majority of them outshined with all the wisdom on earth in their words, rest had posted videos with their elderly parents, in-laws, siblings exchanging exceptionally pleasing epilogue, few others surprised me with the bold and audacious avatars of themselves which I could have not imagined ever to be out of the four walls of their house.

It's not that I have been totally disconnected from friends and family. I have been speaking to them occasionally and that was the reason for my bewilderment. One who showed a perfect family picture on social media happened to call me the next day and we discussed our notorious college days, the professors, excursions, and the nostalgic moments. She said that she wished to go back to those happy days, hearing this, I told her that she must be the most blessed person on the planet yet missing something. Then she shared a few of her miserable phases of life, all the challenges, and her disinterest towards many things. This spun my head, immediately I asked her then how her social status and pics tell a different story altogether and I had no clue of her ongoing hardships. On this she replied that social platforms are to present your prime status, these platforms are to showcase one's desire to stand out in the crowd, to be the best in everything.

Another shocking incident was when I called one of our relatives to wish on her birthday. After a few minutes of warm exchanges, the conversation turned one-sided where expertly she back bitched many and complaint about almost every family member. Though her post reflected her as one of the sanest, thoughtful, caring, loving, and wise people of the family. In another similar conversation, I complimented one of my far-off cousins for her bold and beautiful profile on social media which was quite unusual of her, for that she said she has learnt how to flaunt things to get into the talking books of others. This is the way the market works for her interior designing business.

One fine day while returning from my office I met my old colleague. In a casual conversation, I told her that I liked the beautiful family video of theirs posted on social media where she talked so well about everyone especially her mother-in-law which is quite an inspiration to others. Again to my shock, she gave a smile and said that they as a family don’t want to show others that how bitter they are from inside for each other. She and her mother-in-law are always at their best behaviour for others rather than for each other.

With everyone's world transforming into a kind of ‘Showbiz’ is taking them away from their true self. All seemed to be lost in their fake identity, projecting it as the ultimate truth. The words of wisdom are with everyone without being implemented. Opinions and judgements are shared on bigger platforms without any esprit d’escalier. Easy and quick access into others’ lives is building new walls rather than connecting to each other. People are all the more intolerant.

If the last decade has taught me anything, it’s that while the world is unpredictably, unpredictable, our faith and ways are constant. No matter what culture comes up with next, we should be true to ourselves than this imaginary figure.

Things that are accepted by society have changed drastically over the last decade. It was not that long ago that recreational marijuana was viewed negatively, and genders were clearly defined. Today, we are exposed to new social constructs that were considered extreme just a few years ago. It's time that we navigate these ever-changing social rules and norms at lightning speed. How are we supposed to keep up?

Since the beginning of time, society has been changing. So, in a lot of ways, it shouldn’t surprise us how much our culture is changing. However, our faith remains the same. Faith doesn’t change and our moral standard doesn’t change. But if we aren’t grounded, we will be blown away in the shifting sands of culture.