Accompanied by one of the best in the world. I still crib.

God, it hardly went right for a day and now again!! …..urrr….I have lost all the charm in my life.…..urrr….! How do I fix this? But I don’t know how much I want to fix this up?

While typing this, my palm and fingers are still on….Sometimes gentle, sometimes not so. Ouch……..such bumpy roads. Before I could gather back my touch, there came a voice; I am not enjoying it either. It’s not mutual. It’s no more fun. Your cravings outpace my emotions, often leaving me dissatisfied and frustrated. I am done with it !

Before I could respond or even understand, there’s a flash and it’s all gone.

OOPS…..All I was left with, was a battery drained cellphone in my hand. Every bumpy pothole pushed me closer to realizing how I was tasked with fixing this crucial relationship of my life. A bond that I shared with my beloved cellphone. One that comes with an in-built smartness but needs continuous care and space to respond or function.

Is it our lifestyle that is causing tangles all around?! Smartphones are getting drained as we spend too much time with them. Our relationships are getting drained as we spend too much time away from them.

While the problem looks dual-faceted, we actually have to fix only one facet of it. If we reduce the time spent with our phone, the rest shall be taken care on its own. And here’s the bonus; as we spend less time with our phone, higher are the chances of our beloveds and friends spending less time with theirs too. Because we are in this, together.  

Instead, what are we busy with?! Turning our world topsy-turvy to get that perfect click for social posting. Perhaps because we are continuously dealing with the peer pressure to keep our virtual appearance fitter than the real one. How do we get to a point where we understand that even the world around us needs a break from our new-age addictions? The space that we give to our smartphone shall translate into creating some REAL SPACE in our life.

Not intending to be preachy but let’s reflect on how and when we started to crave as much for attention. I realized that it’s nothing new. It has nothing to do with the new-age technology or social media. This craving is age-old. All living beings have always been attention-seeking.

Look at these gorillas standing tall with the man and posing like humans for that perfect selfie. 

Picture courtesy: sciencealert.com

This quest to seek attention was always there in all living beings. Apes beating their chest, peacocks showing their fluff graciously, cats snuffing around mew-mew and humans posting to social media. Is the craving not same?

Then why blame the technology?

Only because it gives more credence to appearance that is virtual and not real. Because it is about communicating with our peers, admirers and friends in a filtered manner. Or because it dominates the use of visual vocabulary more than real emotions?!

If yes, then the challenge is to move from virtual to real. Not from new to old.

It is for us to treat social media or smartphone as only a trick that is new in the field of attention craving. It is for us to limit its usage as an application and not allow it to affect our personality or our real relationships. What better a time to do this when the weather outside creates a craving for warmth?

Amidst the chilly air outside, let us re-create the warmth in our relationships. Let us gear up to celebrate this Christmas in the tranquility of our real bonds, making them stronger with some face-to-face conversations and hearty laughs. Let us walk with our loved ones hand-in-hand and make those moments of not being photographed grand. Let us stay away from those “photo-taking impairment moments” and behold our real selves in the shades of red and green, the real shades of Christmas.

I pledge to celebrate this December in real tranquility and not amidst the gimmicky flashes of virtual likes.

Winter is here

Everything around is new & festive

from décor to apparels.

Soon, angels come from the heaven so high

to sing sweet carols.

The holiday colors are green and red.

It is snowy outside

with freshly baked cake and bread.

While the trees are dark outside

it is joyful to decorate the Christmas tree inside.

And cherish the warmth of our real bonds alongside.