Friday, May 15, 2015

Day 55 : Lie and Bullsh*t Continuum


Life today is like a bunch of back to back totally made-up stories of grandeur with intermittent sprinkle of cheating and pizza. We spend a lot of time inside our own made up universe, so that the outside world doesn't seem too real and disappointing to us. Inside our heads we are chic and cool, speak all big smart words, walk confidently and smell delicious. While the truth is half the words you say cannot be understood by anyone, and you walk like Cramer in Seinfeld, and you smell too much like a funeral home with all that perfume you drowned yourself in to cover the stench of sweat. People sweat a lot more than they think they do!

Every time you open your Facebook or Twitter or WhatsApp, you will find a bunch of pictures of people travelling to exotic places, throwing big parties, wishing each others on engagements or a big promotion. Then you also join in with the other cattle and 'moo' in your congratulatory words. All the while, you gossip with the person standing next to you (or the voice inside of your head) how the person who got that promotion had an affair with his/her boss. Or how the person who's been travelling to all those exotic places has a drug problem. Or how that colleague who is throwing a big party, for which you were not invited, is gay.

All that stories you yourself heard from somewhere may or may not be true. And frankly, you wouldn't give a damn either way, because lying has become such a part of our daily routine that we tend to unquestioningly consume every story about everyone. The more controversial they are, the more it spreads within the masses. We have grown to enjoy scandalizing everyone's life so much that there are some people who actually feel disappointed when they find that there aren't many stories been circulating about them of late. They begin to feel like they have let themselves down.

That's the part that I do not get. When did we all begin to worry so much of the stories that people perceive about us. Oh, you bought a new tank top? Please do take a picture of you in it and share with the 1000-odd strangers you have on your Facebook, and the couple of future stalker pervert you added unknowingly because they had mutual friends with you.

It is not only the girls that confuse me. Historically this idea of a "Man" has been to keep his feelings locked inside, and just flex his biceps and grunt his way through life. The more emotionally available and mysterious a guy is more appealing he is to the female crowd. Now, I see Twitter being used like a shrink's couch where every single guy just feels compelled to push his innermost feelings and thoughts about every single thing on this planet. No matter how inappropriately creepy or offensive they may be.

Our lying in social media is like a gateway drug for our real one. The way we portray ourselves in the Facebook, bleeds into our social like with real-life human beings. Questions like 'You seemed so smart and articulate, how come you are such a dork in real life?’ are much more common these days.

You are not what you show yourself to be in there. You cannot pack your dog poop in glitter paper and sell it to people as Sneaker bars. It just doesn't work that way. You are what you are, weird pithy and unique. Just like the 8 billion other people on this planet. You are not going to change yourself just by putting up and allowing yourself to be tagged in only the good posts in social media. Just like the billions of other people on that site.

You are never going to be all that grand in real life. But that does in no way mean that
the ordinary you are any less special.

Stop lying. Stop bullsh*tting.

Be good. That's all that counts.
 

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