Tuesday, October 4, 2016

Humanity is a disease

I have 3 tabs open on my browser.

One is a video; a beautiful fruit of an old friend's labour. But also a reminder of one of my biggest heartbreaks from 2015.

The second one is a friend's self-congratulatory facebook status, where he gloats about finally getting published (after trying to get his manuscript read by publishers for years).

The third, is a chat I'm having with my best friend. We're discussing whether we can truly be happy for someone else's success.

It's easier when you're close to them.

I find it difficult even then. 

I think the last time I was truly happy is when you got engaged.

What's a world without validation, right? But it really got me thinking.

How do you stop yourself from making comparisons when you see someone else going ahead in life? It's such a natural instinct to justify your complacency in the wake of someone else's success. No matter how many times you tell yourself "but they worked so hard, they deserve all the happiness and success" — (they really do) — it's very difficult to detach your life/work graph from it.

There are just so many overlapping narratives, jumping above one another, forming angles and tangents; what do you latch onto?

Maybe it's time for that social media break after all. But then is running away the solution?