Let´s be honnest. Social media only highligh what was already there. The automatic “I am Ok – thank you!” when being asked how you are – that’s what we do all the time as if to make sure to not appear like a burden to others, a loser.
I realized this when I get news from people that I have not been in touch with for years. They mostly highligh the best things in their life but dont dare to share about going through a burn out, depression, a family member or even themselves fighting cancer, beeing unemployed, having doubts about their career path, feeling lonely…
They won’t talk about any of that not because they got it together but because they are ashamed. You should certainly not show your scars, your pain to the world if you don’t want to be pointed out or worst, laughted at. As if not being Ok was abnormal when all those ups and downs are just part of life. As if being vulnerable was a weakness. Blaming it on social media is just a short cut. Instagram is just emphasizing what was there already. We do not encourage other to be vulnerable and when they do anyway – we chose to shut them down with shame or pretend that we haven’t seen heard anything 🙈🙉🙊. Smile, smile smile even when your heart is sinking.
We chose to hidde ourselves behind layers of fragile illusion of happyness because we certainly can’t bear other people pain, let alone – our own pain. Isn’t it tiring to compete against other people illusions? Our actions to other is a reflection of how we treat ourselves. The more we shame others for beeing vulnerable, the less we allow ourselves to live authenticaly. Our individual pain and hope are what connect us deeply to others. Showing your scars is like letting the world see bits of your heart.
It is time to liberate ourselves from this vicious circle. Don´t you think so?
Mfiè y´a Enyiñ 