I was reading recently about Trump and his lies. Apparently, he told his 10,000th lie whilst in office the other day – no-one seemed to care. It’s generally accepted that that’s how he is, so no-one calls him out on it any more. And it got me thinking about the way the world is headed. Most of us enjoy curating our glossy veneers of social media with positive meme’s and snapshots of the ‘best life’. We all know that the reality for many is often considerably less perfect.
Now, I’m no President, but I am as guilty as the next person for trickling a steady stream of little white lies into my various feeds. Highlights only. Besides, social media is not the place to vent your frustrations or air dirty laundry. The unwritten rules of social engagement stipulate that such behaviours be kept to a minimum, lest we get branded an attention seeker and banished to the blocked list. In a world of the perpetually offended, one needs to take care.
This seems to be completely at odds with statements like ‘it’s OK to not be OK’ and ‘asking for help is not a weakness’. However, the world seems curiously at ease with our online magic mirrors, provided everyone is doing it. Increasingly we are living inside our perfect reflections using likes as a sounding board of affirmation and approval. Meanwhile the gulf between our touched-up projections and the realities of life gets wider. Hmmm…
Yesterday I had a sobering reality check. This weekend I was due to climb Snowdon with the Scouts, a challenge they have been training hard for. I was talking to friends when it dawned on me; it’s all very well pulling up during a well marshalled race, but up the side of a Welsh mountain it’s a different matter. I now know that I simply can’t do it and that really, really hurts. Snapchat can’t smooth out the parts of me that are broken.
In my last blog I broke the taboo and, against all conventional wisdom, made a very public cry for help. Rather than being exiled, my call was answered. I don’t know who you all are – although I have a good idea – but for those of you who considered donating, put yourselves forward as a living donor, sent me heart warming messages of support and have sponsored me… Thank you, Thank you, Thank you. This is all the affirmation I need for the strength of the human spirit.
Be warned, you’ll still get instagrams, running tweets and the occasional bad joke on facebook, but take them for what they are. Things are, in fact, much better than they seem, and that’s down to all of you, not me.
#R24TRC 