It's all just an illusion

So, I hesitated to share the previous post.  Not because it wasn't cute or funny, but because it was very personal.  I know. I know.  I share some serious dirty laundry and throw some wicked shade, but some things are just sensitive and should be kept to ourselves.  I posted it anyways, because the fact that someone else needed to hear it trumped the previous comment.

That said, I think that suicide is a rampant disease.  It is affecting so many people. It's sad and very scary.  It's not just touching those who've been to war, or lost everything, or seriously down on their luck.  It's affecting our youth, our kids, and even those who seem to have everything we all secretly covet.  I really took a step back to understand why.  Wanna know my logic?  Social Media.  Yep, there it is. 

Social Media is making us crazy. 

It doesn't matter where we turn there's so much conflicting crap to shuffle thru.  One minute you're staring at a magazine with a curvy woman on the front claiming we should all embrace who we really are and love ourselves for just that.  Then, the magazine right next to it has a picture of someone with unrealistic beauty expectations claiming that natural beauty is the way to go.  It's confusing for the adults.  I can't imagine how insane it is for our kids. Natural beauty does not come with a makeup regimen that took you 3 hours to complete, no does it include plastic surgery or waist trainers.  Jesus, have you heard of diet and exercise?  That's natural. Moving on, cause that's another sermon for another day. 

Open up Facebook and I promise there are at least 4 of your friends on vacation somewhere wonderful, 3 who are married to what she claims is the man of everyone's dreams,  2 kids are being whisked away to an amazing college that would cost more than my mortgage, and there is at least one "mom of the year" who secretly drinks more wine than Carter has liver pills. 

The sad reality of this, is on social media I can show you just the life I want you to see.  Take a second and look at mine.  Well that's a bad example, because I know this to be true and thus don't publish anything that would give hints as to what my life is like.  Look at people tho.  Everyone is doing so wonderful. They all love their spouses, even the ones you know are shacking up with someone else.  Their kids are all so perfect, even the ones you hear screaming in the parking lot from the back of Target. Every relationship is built to last. Everyone's dreams are coming true.  Well hate to break it to you, but they aren't, and all scrolling through that crap is doing is making each and every one of us feel badly about ourselves , because we don't have that. 

We see the vacations to the Mediterranean, but we don't see the mountain of credit card debt. We see the amazing parties thrown for their kids, but we don't see that without those elaborate parties, no one would show up.  We see the brand new vehicle her husband purchased for her, but we don't see the reason behind that is, because he got caught cheating with the waitress at the Moose Lodge. We see that she bought him every new pair of Jordan's that hit the shelf , but we don't see that eviction papers were filed twice this year..   We see all these seemingly perfect lives, and we compare them to our own.  Wake up!  They're just like you and me.  The only difference is I'm not to proud to say I haven't been on vacation in over 5 years, because I can't afford it.  I'm not too proud to admit that so much of our Christmas presents are second hand and regifted.  I'm not too proud to admit that I'm human, and I don't have it all together.  I'm normal.  My daughter went to school today in an outfit she picked out. I watched her brush her hair.  I noticed that she changed, but she looked a little more homeless in the outfit she left in than the pajamas.  Did I say anything? No. She's 12. If she can't pick out an outfit by now, there's no help to be had.  Plus, I believe at some point you have to stop hovering and let them be themselves.  But, again I digress and that's for another day. 

The point here is this, we are not perfect.  What you see on Facebook, Instagram etc, is the side of life that they choose to show you.  You aren't getting the real picture.  Chances are, and we all have this one friend too, if they show us the whole picture, we unfollow them.  No one cares what you had for lunch unless you share the recipe. 

Stop comparing yourself to everyone out there.  We all have struggles you know nothing about.  We are all just hanging on by a thread and a cork in our favorite bottle.  Even the so called rich and famous have to offer a half price show now and then to avoid being homeless.