An Ode to my Mother

I was thirteen and very keen
Life was happy and serene
Had great parents and 2 sisters not in their teens
We laughed and we played
Shared stories and charades

Smiles, laughter and abundant joy
Naughty, kind and not at all coy
Till one day it all seemed dark
They told us the news and I was stark
Why us O' God why us i asked?

The next five years sped rapidly by
We counted the days for her to say good bye
She cried in pain and was yet so strong
Oh God give us the strength to do no wrong

I was eighteen, no longer a teen
she was gone, never again to be seen
I cried each night and missed so her much
Why O God, you took our mother in such a rush???

The Need to Feed our Egoes

This blog started out as an effort to freely express my feelings, to share my thoughts, opinions and experiences. Over the past few months i have found it harder to contribute freely. The reason being, increased visibility and exposure to social media. Facebook, Twitter, Google + you name it and I have an account. I have become more conscious, i want to be a perfectionist in everything i put out there. I know people are reading and i want them to like what they read. I have fallen into the trap of feeding my ego.

Aren't we all in that trap, riding high on ego? Social media is a perfect way to satiate just that. When we post a picture on Facebook we don't post the ones which are just ordinary or make us look ugly, we pick the best ones. We spend time editing them to look the best. Why so?? Because we can achieve instant gratification. You post a good picture and within seconds friends, family and acquaintance will praise it, tell u how beautiful u look or what a great picture it is. Does that not feel great? It instantly gratifies your ego. You feel awesome about yourself.  

But what is it that we fear? We fear that we are not liked enough, or that we are not accepted by all or that my friend will gets 20 comments on her picture and i only 2. So we are constantly trying to prove to ourselves and (others) that look I am equally liked, I am popular, I look good too. We want constant and frequent affirmations and platforms like Facebook, Orkut does exactly that.

I read a great piece this morning by Ashley Turner on 'Keeping it Real on Social Media'. She talks about our need to live in the 'High Ego' and constantly compare and contrast ourselves to other people. What i really liked about the piece was her challenge for the week. The challenge to 'Keep it Real' on social media. She encourages people to be a little bit more transparent. Post, share or say something that brings out your vulnerability, shows your authenticity.

So let's all take up this challenge and be real. Let's not constantly try to perfect our images in front of others. Let's not only share our victories but also our failures. And let's see how that feels.

Cheers!