Braking Bad

This morning, on my way to work cursing the daylights out of everyone in front of me, I got cornered into taking a turn that put me in uncharted territory. As I drove along cautiously trying to figure out a route that would put me back onto the main road I was familiar with, I was struck with a rather profound epiphany. I observed that most of the drivers around me do not apply their brakes and wait for the obstruction to clear – instead they just drive around it at the risk of impeding traffic on the oncoming lane.

Now, why is this such an important realization, you ask? I feel it talks about us as social beings who do not respect another person’s right of passage while coming across as competing in a race that hardly matters. We could argue that the obstructing driver is being a total ass-hat and we should not let them get away easily, but by not letting them get out of the way and clearing the path, we are only guilty of contributing to a Mexican standoff where nobody gives in and all parties are stacked.

Now that I think about it, I remember braking for pedestrians and public transport to cross the lane and I being met with murderous stares. It was like I stole their opportunity to accomplish a supernatural feat. However, in some instances I have had fellow drivers roll down their windows, give a thumbs-up sign and drive off. Now, how simple and satisfying is that?

Upon introspection, it seems humankind has relinquished their humanity and are slowly reverting to a basic and feral state. The evolution of humankind has shown a steady growth towards a crest, before plateauing, and heading to a trough where the famed 6^th sense is concerned. With an abundance of information being made available, a majority of humankind is getting intelligent, but not smart, which has in turn bred arrogance and disdain because the next generation has been forced to believe that life is the Great Race and not the Great Dream anymore.

Best,

AaMen

Socially Me, Dear.

So, I see that it's been more than 7 years since I last embraced the urge to pen down my thoughts on my blog page. Primarily, I would attribute it to the alluring distraction that is social media. For most of the last decade, it's either been Facebook this, Insta that, Tweet here, Snapchat there and not to be left out, WhatsApp has entirely replaced texting and redefined communication in ways that nobody could have fathomed.

Two weeks back, I decided to deactivate my Facebook. At the time, I had 104 friends on my list and at its peak, I had over 750 friends many of whom I would chat with periodically for the various online games we used to play or bike trips we had planned or just reminiscing about school and college. Gradually, the apps became more diverse and commercial while I matured along the way, focusing more on making money. I became conscious that I had a lot of "friends" that I never spoke with or interacted but just had them on, because. I began pruning and selecting those whom I wanted to be in the  audience seats to the show that my life is. Eventually, my interaction with the 104 people I had chosen also became minuscule and was being drowned in the vast sea of advertisements and videos that Facebook thought I should spend more time watching instead of showing me memories from my friends' lives.

From a time when every trip to a new city, checking into a hotel room, every picture ever taken, every video watched and post published on the wall was a statement that needed to be acknowledged and seen as a testament to one's popularity and social standing, to now - not wanting to share anything, has been quite the journey.

Yesterday, while reading a colleague's blog I was overcome with a warm, familiar nostalgia which triggered in me a realization. I am not short of words; I was just busy believing that being accepted on a large social media platform was more important than nurturing the passion in me to write. For quite some time now, people have been urging me to begin writing again, and yet it was only once I decoupled my life from the attachment I had with social media, did I find the time and will to pursue something I love.

Words.

Best,
AaMen