Polished Perceptions

   Growing up I learned that your value to somebody is directly proportional to how much you can benefit them. Whether they like you or not is never about you but about them. And the people who initially fight you and stand in your way could end up not only taking pride in your achievements but also taking credit for your success.

   The truth is, we think so highly of ourselves; each one cocooned in our private world thinking that the universe revolves around us. We think that we should always get the best of everything and when someone else does and we don’t, we start asking why?

   Think of how much effort we put into polishing the perception that others have of us, and if you don’t believe what I’m saying, go check your facebook feed; read the post of the person who claims they’re feeling tired because they flew from dubai to Istanbul, not caring so much that people notice the ‘tired’ part but rather the ‘Istanbul’ part. Or the person who has to tell the world that he’s had breakfast from his wife’s hands just in case you missed the post that announced to the world he got married. I really don’t understand this new found interest in wanting to announce to the world everything that happens in your private life. Where have the lines between what’s private and what’s public blurred? And most importantly, why have the lines blurred? Is it because we have become so insatiably hungry for validation that we’ve started measuring our value by the number of likes and comments?

   When will we stop keeping up appearances and actually work for something real? I have huge respect for people who wake up every morning to do honest work, share their gift with the world or be at service to others without waiting for the world to applaud them or even recognize them; the street cleaner who works tirelessly under the beating sun even though there’s nobody behind him to check his work, the mother who packs her children’s breakfast every morning and doesn’t wait to be paid for the effort.

   I wish you’ll take the time today to do something for someone without waiting to be acknowledged or thanked or paid…