My very public Private Universe

All Shades Under The Sun...

Everyone is on the Internet! EVERYONE. What does that term mean? People from all walks of life, various lands and cultures, different personalities, diverse backgrounds and experiences, with varying interests, with complimenting/conflicting ideas and opinions and a vast span of beliefs and individualities. Now where and how do you fit in this crowd? The truth is, you and the others on the net have only one common quality…and that is, you and they chose to be on the Internet – nothing less nothing more. Everything else about you and them are different. Well there may be some similarities too but no 2 people are the same...if you take 2 people on the net, their ethnicity, age, hair color, personality, education, skills, beliefs etc etc will never be the same. Yes we are all human but boy o boy we all have our story to tell, and no 2 stories are ever the same! So what does this mean? On your good days, you will find few people agreeing with you, making you feel understood and validating your thoughts as the ultimate truth. And voila you feel awesome! But on your bad days, you’ll have some people disagreeing with you, making you feel like a misfit and some even abusing you for being who you are. And then you feel really irritated. Don't pack up and leave, cos you are what you are and they are what they are.


Colors Seen By Candlelight...
It’s natural to feel great when people agree with you and feel a little sad when they don’t. But can EVERYONE on Earth understand you? Also, can you understand EVERYONE else on Earth? It’s not something possible to do by any human being. No one can get in the shoes of another 100%. There will always be someone who doesn’t understand you or who’s gonna make you feel silly for what you believe. But should it affect you? I think not. I’m sure there are people on the net that baffles you too…that make you wonder what on Earth they had for brekky to behave like that! Yes total comprehension of the psychology of another human on the net is a far cry, when you can’t even fully understand the people you live with for years and years. So don’t try to do it…don’t try to read EVERYONE’s mind on the net, neither should you try to tell EVERYONE on the net that your thoughts and beliefs are the purest. It’ll only drain you. Different people come on the net for different reasons….some may be here to get the attention they never get in their real lives…some may be on the net to recover from whatever they have gone/are going through in their lives…some may be on the net to seek the love they never get in real…some may be here just for the heck of it, to kill time…some may be here to express, learn, share and connect with others…some others may be here to control total strangers cos they don’t get to control people in their own lives. We all have different reasons why we chose to be on the net, and there’s no way that we’ll ever know the real lives of our friends and foes on the net. Cos on the net, we get to see only a small fraction of people’s personalities. And that means some of the people you may be associating on the net could be mentally ill, suicidal or even serial offenders. It doesn’t have to freak you out but I said that only for you to realise how vast a place the net is. What you see is not what you always get.


A Private Universe...
So, the way we think of ourselves, our needs and desired outcomes vis-à-vis those of others on the net are like train-tracks…cos they never meet. Sometimes you try to do your best by EVERYONE on the net but there’s always SOMEONE who’d diss you for no reason or for no fault of your’s…who’ll ridicule you even after you were nice to them. What do you do then? If I were you I’d ignore them...cos they don’t deserve my time or my energy. I come on the net to express, learn, share and connect. And even though some may think that people on the net don’t deserve to be respected or treated nicely, please know that people on the net are not robots…that they too have a heart and blood flowing through their veins. My blog is my online home. This is the place where my heart and soul lives. My blog is a snapshot of the life of my heart...a written journey of my heart...my own private universe in a very public domain. I have a lot of respect and love for it, and I give that kind of respect to other blogs too. And when someone asks me to get out of their blog for no fault of mine, I’d like to take it as either this person is going through a personal dilemma that I’m not aware of, or this person totally lacks respect for others. Such arrogance and disrespect I detest and I refuse to be the target of. My policy in life is (net or not), if someone doesn’t respect me, I don’t step into their territory again...if someone doesn't want me in their lives, I leave them for good. I’m not affected by them, neither am I confused by their behaviour. I’m no shrink but I can understand that no 2 people are ever the same, and that some people are simply different. I'm not here for scores of comments (though I get them), I'm not here to win a competition in writing, I'm not here to show off my skills or qualifications, I'm not here to hurt or boss people around, I'm not here to sell anything, and I'm not here to be the target of anyone's sheer ignorance either. I'm here cos I am.

Take Only What You Deserve...

Now, a true story for all: Lord Buddha once went to a house where he was so respectfully invited for lunch...and as he was eating his lunch with fellow monks, the host suddenly started abusing Lord Buddha using utter profanity, and for no reason at all. Lord Buddha did not panic, neither did he retaliate in anger and disappointment...but he continued having his lunch in silence and with the same peace of mind that he entered the house. The host was very angry that the Buddha didn't react...so he came upto him and asked 'how come, after all this abuse, you're still having your lunch without saying a single word to me?'...and the Buddha replied 'you invited me to have lunch here...which I graciously accepted and enjoyed having at your home...but I can't accept your abuse cos that's not what I came here for'. And he thanked the host and left with his monks in sheer grace and beauty. Later on, the host ordained himself at the feet of the Lord Buddha.


Likewise I'd like to say this to people on the net. I’m not here to please EVERYONE, neither do I expect EVERYONE else to please me. Cos I’m not EVERYONE, and EVERYONE is not me. I'd whole-heartedly accept your invitation for me to be at your online home, but I simply reject your abuse. And even if you abuse me and chase me out of your home, my being stays the same...resilient under all weathers and words. I'm content and my heart shall continue living here and writing her story.


Tell me, why are you on the net and what does your blog mean to you?


Current music: Private Universe by Crowded House