Open to Interpretation

Someone recently complained to me about the Facebook page of an acquaintance that irritated them because it seemed like they were always bragging about how great their life was.  I have seen hundreds of Face Book pages and individuals are free to use them however they see fit.  Some people use FB to keep friends and relatives updated on their lives and others use it to find friends from the past they've lost touch with.  There are those who use it as a forum for their business, some as a place to vent, a place to brag, a place to seek ideas, and encouragement.  There are predators, scam artists and unsavory people there as well.  Whatever a persons reason for being on social media, they do have the right to post whatever they choose.  You have the right to read it, or not.  Thankfully you have options.  You can unfollow anyone at anytime and still keep them as friends.  By not following them you do not see their updates unless you make a conscious choice to visit their page.  If they are really that irritating remove them from your friends list.  You can even block people if you feel that is necessary.   I personally have only blocked known scam artists with fake accounts.  

I look at most people's pages as a high light reel.   You go to the movies and see previews for coming attractions.  Some movies look awesome until you actually go to see it and find out that all of the best parts were in the preview and all you were left with was kind of a slow, mundane film that you could have waited to see on Net Flix. I really can only speak to my own page.  It is a place for me that I happen to share with hundreds of other people.  I post my adventures, photos I want to share with family and friends, things that inspire me and memories I want to keep.  It is both a scrapbook and a place to inspire myself and others.  I am on the quest to be the best person that I can be.  I have suffered from depression and anxiety off and on over the years.  There are times when I want to barricade in my house and read books for weeks.  I make myself go out and spend time with friends, do things that are outside my comfort zone and I try to get others to do the same.  

I try very hard not to judge others.  It is hard sometimes.  We live in a society that judges people every day.  I grew up putting labels on everyone else because that is what we do.  In order to file individuals away in our brain we put little tags on them to help us remember who they are.  In doing this we sometimes relegate them into a little box that has nothing to do with who they really are.  We are so much more than actions we took in high school or an opinion that we once expressed that didn't sit right with those around us.  We judge a persons character by one mistake or a perception we were given by someone else.  We may be missing out on wonderful people because we can't get past a physical flaw or an instant impression that we made.

Sometimes instant impressions are reliable.  We are all intuitive; some a little more than others.  We recognize personality traits that may not be compatible with our own and we walk away.  This is fine and healthy.  What isn't healthy is telling others not to friend someone because of your personal perception.   I read an article last week that really made me think.  It talked about people whose energy repulses you.  I have met a few people in life that I can not handle being around.  In some cases they are energy suckers, vampires that drain me and leave me feeling weak and emotionally exhausted.  Others have an energy that I really don't like.  The article talked about the latter-the ones who have energy we don't like.  It suggested that we don't like them because we recognize a trait in them that we ourselves have and don't want.  I mentally listed the few people who I feel this way towards and found some truth to it.

Bringing this all back around to social media and the way that we use it.  I suggest that you make an effort to leave a positive imprint.  Don't leave passive aggressive remarks, don't fuel the fire on ignorant comments and save the drama for a different forum.  There are so many wonderful and positive people out there posting.  Making the choice to stay away from the negative posts; the anger filled, accusatory, hate filled rants that fear mongers like to use to incite rage is the first step.  Don't let your first impression of a person or a situation be the deciding factor on where you stand.  First off you don't have to choose a side.  If you are compelled to be drawn in make sure that you have checked the facts and looked at both sides.  If you don't know enough about the situation stay quiet.  Misconceptions and skewed interpretations lead to something going viral that is based completely on emotion and has nothing to do with facts.  There are some very unhappy people who troll the internet looking for a fight.  They hide behind their anonymity and delight in anarchy.  I have been sucked in by people like this before and don't like the way that it makes me feel.

This is my rant for the day.  I am not even sure if it makes sense.  I just know that everything in life is open to interpretation.  Everything is a choice.  The choices we make will inevitably define who we become.  My goal is to project love and light which isn't always easy in a world addicted to darkness.