What is it to have a full life? According to society, it’s having a nice car, a family that doesn’t make too much ruckus in public, a house (or rather, these days, a condo), mortgage payments, a job that isn’t too ordinary but also not too unique, either. Above all, of course, you have to have an Instagram account that will be the advertisement for this productive life.
There are never too many pictures that can be taken of this lovely family having fun at the beach with their fancy umbrella or of the beautiful, restaurant-style meals arranged perfectly on the heirloom China. The hope of most people is that others won’t see what goes on behind the Instagram account, and, of course, the hope of the others is that they won’t have to see it, either. Is that because of discomfort or my naive hope is that it’s because everyone loves to believe and to dream as it offers a small hope to strive for?
What are we truly hoping for? A picture-perfect life? Do people wake up in the morning feeling completely content and relaxed, ready to face the day? The truth (of course I am working on assumption here) is that most of us wake up filled with worry about how things are going to go. We have mouths to feed, even if it’s just our own; we have things to accomplish. If we don’t accomplish those things on time, or plan too much at one time, then that is another worry and another judgment, more from ourselves than from others.
What is truly a full life? That’s the real question. To be an accepted member of society? A colourful and picturesque Instagram account filled with documentation of a picture-perfect existence? Maybe it might be waking up in the morning and seeing with one’s own eyes what is already there. Maybe it’s giving some coin to someone who is obviously in need of help and not questioning what they’re going to do with the money, but instead wishing them a good day.
I get more joy from doing something kind than polishing my social media. A genuine smile from an actual person is a pretty good exchange; it may not be recorded like 1,000 likes, but it could be a moment of intimacy between real people, and that is rare these days.
I still don’t know what is the secret to having a full life; I probably never will. I only know a few small things that make me happy, and I also know that there are things that seem to fall short of an actual, full life (an Instagram life).
Genuine connection with actual humankind, however flawed, is a true experience and one that will make people remember each other, and maybe also change someone’s day, and just maybe change their life.