reflection

it's a funny thing to be on your own. it is such a preconceived notion, such an expected reaction for one to feel lonely if on their own, that it almost becomes instinctual to fall into. it is still socially unacceptable to sit alone at a table, and to self-occupy. it is seen as if the person has no one to keep them company, has no other option but to suffer their own company. how can the individual, unequipped with any technological entertainment device, be satisfied? how can that be better than the banter that is had over the phone, the worthless conversation that can be had in text? the instruments we invent that birth a new application every five seconds have convinced us that what is old and simple can never be enough. what was sold but a year ago is no longer available for purchase, as a year gives rise to so many new functions in a single device that a model is considered worthless without the umpteenth widget that has been come up with. 

 human beings are having this technological trend translated to their behavioral interaction; we must always be changing, we must have new interests every x amount of time, we must be 'progressing', advancing, evolving. it is as if the act of morphing one's self is what is expected to provide enhancement. motion forward with no direction. keeping the wheels turning while off the ground. what is resulting is an utter lack of satisfaction; for how can anyone savor the moment if they are not allowed to stop and reflect on it? if it is expected for people to keep moving, keep busy, keep moving forward without stopping to appreciate the difference between being stationary and moving? the actions become the only thing present, while the reasons for these actions go unnoticed, uncared for, unimportant. at which point, what is an action worth if it is a mere mechanical reflex, a reaction to the previous action taken? every action is a formulaic and predictable ingredient resulting from what was done and what is striving to be achieved, and nothing more. what is the difference then between a human and a machine? have we transformed ourselves into the machines to which we have become so attached? 

people can know themselves better through reflections with others, but the purest self-discovery can only be done on your own, uninfluenced by anyone's tainted and inevitably biased opinions. even though it is true that to self-evaluate will only give one analysis on a makeup as complex as the personality, this analysis is what counts, as it is what you think of you. it is neither easy nor comfortable to delve into your self, to attempt to see your inside from the outside, but essentially is the only way truly progress, in whichever sense you take the word 'progress' to mean, as that progress is solely relevant to you. if somebody else does not have the same definition of progress, then that is for them to apply to their own character. our personality has been created by all the events in our lives that were unavoidable, granted, but we also play a large part in the moulding of our persona. it is we who choose, and the degree to which we choose in itself describes a lot about ourselves. 

 but if we keep drowning ourselves in gadgets and gizmos, and spend all of our time researching their purchase, purchasing, and following up on these gadgets, if we keep performing acts as mindlessly and emptily as 1,2,3, then we will not evolve in the true meaning of evolution. we will go forward without evolving, the wheels will keep turning with no advancement. which is why it is imperative to learn to appreciate one's own company; because unless you take the time to get to know yourself, then you can never really have anyone else know you thoroughly, as they will be knowing someone half-discovered, a person half blacked out. we can pretend all we want that these machines are bringing us closer together, but the truth is that until we can put these electronics aside for long enough to let us think about ourselves, then we will only be increasing the barriers between one another, and even more scarily, between getting to understand the real us.