Are Human Connections No Longer Needed?

I'm amazed at social networking these days not because it is a positive force in this word but because of how everyone buys into it, hook, line and sinker (lake sold seperately).  There are four little letters that take people on these social networking sites (Facebook), into a make believe world.  The letters L, I, K and E are the ones I am focusing on which of course spell LIKE.

Just think of someone clicking LIKE on Facebook.  What does that mean?  What does it truly do?  Do you have to repay them back with a LIKE or will they be upset and think you don't care?  What if you miss a post and don't LIKE it, will it hurt their feelings, will they feel neglected?

Illusion Of Emotions

I remember growing up and getting letters from my mom where she talked about "HOW" my Dad felt. It was like she was sharing his feelings with me instead of him sitting down and writing it in a letter or calling me.

While I do understand my father wrote extremely poorly and the couple of times he did write a letter to me, the words were blasting me with every baseless and false accusation under the sun. Regardless though, my father never shared his feelings with me or how he felt. Unfortunately, I longed for this connection with him instead of the illusion I received.

These days, our society seem to be fixated on the latest news story of the day. The more tragic, the more horror filled or scandalous, the more fixated we become. It consumes our every moment, conversation and the events that we choose to be a part of in our day. Of course, there is great money to be made in these things so those who follow the media day in and day out, willingly participate in the money grab.

We as a culture and society take these things one step further. We emote and release our feelings through these tragic events by sharing them on social networking sites such as Facebook or Twitter. We comment as if we have a personal connection to the event unfolding. We align ourselves with a political persona to give a voice to what it is we feel inside. Last but not least, we comment on these news stories and we argue with others to prove our points. We press the like buttons, the thumbs up or thumbs down thinking the illusion really does matter.

Our comments, our alignment with politics and the things we constantly share in social networking are how we let our feelings out. These things have become our feelings in life. The awaiting disaster in all of this is that we still have these emotions locked within our mind and body, yet we give our self the illusion that by participating in the media culture of life, we are doing something positive.

Just like my mom in days past, by her speaking for what my Dad felt, it really had little connection to me. I longed to hear his words and connect with him. It was a false illusion that was reality to me just as our current day fixation on what the media or social networking sites feed us as truth. We have yet to figure out the illusion we are living but I hope that one day, it will be replaced with the reality of sharing real connections and feelings, not suppressing them.


Further Reading:
1) Commenting Online Without Thinking (Blog Post 06/07/11)
2) Anger In Our World (Blog Post 1/5/11)



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Blog Post & Images (c) 7/6/11 Don Shetterly - use by permission only
http://www.donshetterly.com

If any part of this post is used or shared, a link back to this site is required.
http://mindbodythoughts.blogspot.com/
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Commenting Online Without Thinking

I'm always amazed at just how people respond online. Back in the good ol days of administering message boards, I remember people would comment without thinking. Soon thereafter, a war on the message board would be started. Nowadays, it is not confined to message boards, but to all areas of the internet like news articles, news pundits and social networking sharing.

Lately, I've seen some stories appear on the headlines of the local news sites and it isn't but a matter of moments before people start posting horrible comments. Now, I know that not everyone agrees with each other or likes what the other stands for, but when a story of tragedy hits, is it really a good thing to make hurtful, mean and disrespectful comments?

The discourse in this world is sad, especially in the US! We see it on TV, we hear it from our politicians, the media pundits, and then from all the everyday citizens who comment on the news articles with their biased rants of opinion disguised as fact.

Even after the Oprah show, I remember having people send me some not so nice comments about the Male Survivor episode (Nov 2010 – Read Blog Post). Most people were generally supportive but a few really put the sour icing on the cake! Some of my own family were supportive but a few treated me as though I didn't exist because I exposed a family secret.

We all need to stop and think before we sit down and type some anonymous comment out on our computer screen. Even though we cannot see the person on the end and have no idea who they are, our vicious tongue does nothing to build up this country and this world. A well thought out response stated with respect could be a moment of change for many instead of another person adding gas to a forest fire! We may feel we are correct in our views and opinions but if we don’t learn to think and respect each other, there will be no one left to listen to what we say.


Further Reading:
1) Quiet Please, Just Listen
2) Needing To Be Right


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Blog Post & Images (c) 6/06/11 Don Shetterly - use by permission only
http://www.donshetterly.com

If any part of this post is used or shared, a link back to this site is required.
http://mindbodythoughts.blogspot.com/
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Illusion Or Reality

I see and hear so many people in this world screaming at the top of their lungs. Often, it is about politics or religion or some other injustice in the world. While these are noble causes that usually involve passion, emotion and action, they tend to be more extreme than they need to be.

Take a notice of how many things are displayed in the news. Or how about the format in which movies are created, entertainment is participated in or the activities we connect to. Everything seems to be bigger, greater, more dramatic and more extreme. It is like we cannot get enough or that we've set the bar so high, that now we need more stimulation in life.

Let's go back to the people screaming or should I say in modern terms, "people discussing things in life and social networking and the news". If you look past the screaming, you'll notice that no one is truly listening or respecting what others have to say. Opinion is now shrouded as fact. Sensationalism is portrayed as energy and passion. Whoever can out talk, out yell or out last their fellow human (a.k.a opponent), is deemed the winner in that moment of life. Of course, the moment changes rapidly these days and so the winner today, may be the loser tomorrow.

To me, this is a sad testament to not only our individual existence but the universal connections we share. It is easy for many of us to judge, critique and get caught up in viewing the world through those that excite and motivate our passions as we tend to see them currently in our lives. In many ways, we are no different than those we judge or embrace. We are as much a part of the screaming as they are.

Yet, how far is this getting us in life? Is it solving problems or truly making us more enlightened? Is it helping us to grow individually and collectively as humans?

While escape from every day stress and pains can often bring relief, we need to identify it as such and not live life as an illusion. The screaming, judging and need to have more sensationalism in our lives is an illusion. It is a mask for what we truly feel in our lives or the things we would rather not feel. Of course, this is old news to most people because deep down, we know this in our mind, body and spirit.

Maybe instead of trying to prove or disprove how much each of us participate in the network of illusion, we may want to play the role of observer. Try taking the next day or week and observing what input you take in to your life. I'm not asking you to set yourself apart from the world but to just observe and notice.

Ask yourself what is the purpose? What is it that I get from this? Then if you're bold enough, you may want to consider if you really need that input or could you replace it with something that connects you more with your mind and body offering much greater rewards to yourself.

Sometimes it isn't easy taking a good hard look at our lives. We feel that we have to follow along like everyone else. The funny thing is though, how collectively we are learning to live reality as an illusion. It is all around us if we just take a moment to look at it. We can fool ourselves and explain or rationalize the illusion in many ways, but in the end, it is still an illusion.


*For more articles, check out the Mind Body Thoughts Blog