'Scene is On'

"Charhdey Suraj Dhaldey Waikhey

Bujjhey Deevey Baldey Waikhey 

Heerey Da Koi Mull Na Tarey

Khotey Sikkey Chaldey Waikhey"

Hi everyone,

I feel the need to get a pair of Kaleidoscopic glasses to see and appreciate the multi faceted forum that we call Facebook! I jumped on this band wagon five years ago; clearly there was no turning back and those five years of course should be counted in dog years!

It's a great way to communicate, and an even a greater way to accelerate one's narcissistic tendencies. It's a great way to be surrounded by hundreds while alone, and an even greater way to be alone while surrounded by hundreds: The choice is yours!

I have a very weird and somewhat cynical relationship with this nexus of a platform. Like any other relationship it gives you back what you invest in it or more so what you need to find in it and are so desperate for! It gives you really good friends you haven't met and probably never will, it gives you enemies that you perhaps wouldn't dare make in person, it lends you an opportunity to rub elbows with intellectuals you would otherwise never cross paths with. 

I acknowledge the power of social media before I admit the need of human contact. I acknowledge the power of the give and take of a social relationship before I dare enter one. I personally have fought battles on this platform which I needed to, settled some scores which I had to, mended a few much needed relationships that I wanted to, and sharpened my dull and rusty mind which I opted to. 

It has raised the bar quite high as far as the threshold of tolerance is concerned. You learn to dodge bullets, so to speak, you tolerate what you thought you never would, you write words that you never knew you knew, you inhale the compliments and learn to take criticism with a grain of salt.  

Although with me it started as a simple tool to stay in touch with my family back home, I discovered that the world of Facebook is much deeper than I thought it was. You learn to swim with the sharks, you learn to stay afloat, you learn to create illusions, you learn to pull a Houdini, and you most definitely find finds while looking to be found. 

However there are  quite a few catches to this forum as well. It exposes you to the chosen few in way too many ways, it exposes your disabilities as well as your abilities, it exposes your self-inflated IQ in a couple of interactions, it favors you by exposing you to your own self. What this forum has most of all though is the ability to brutally put you in your place and humble you down. 

Now it's a staple and fun activity of my daily routine. I would hate to admit it but at times I remind myself of a phenomenal busybody from any given neighborhood, on any given day, who gets up each  morning, goes around in the neighborhood, feels no need to knock, nor for an invitation, gets tidbits of gossip from each household and then goes on to have a field day. 

Once I learned to play this game right, once I started to see beyond myself, once I let go of my ego and swallowed my pride, once I checked in my shrewdness, once I learned to manage my sensitivities, I for one discovered on this platform many intellectual minds, many fragile hearts, many pure souls and plenty of vulnerability and humanity to go around!

At the end of each day, one's diligence and earnest effort to stay connected with one's world is what it's all about!

Much love,

Shehla