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I am no more; I am no less.

I am no more. I am no less.


Lately I have found a steadying comfort in this little mantra that I have given myself.


So much communication now is in little postcard passages on social media. I think it’s a miserable way to talk to each other because we really aren’t talking at all. We’re often copying and pasting memes or comments or links to things that other people have written or produced. It’s a way of saying, I agree! I support this. Or isn’t this hysterically funny? I laughed so hard. Or I thought this was so sweet, or so worthy.


But none of this is really communication. Not the kind you have face to face with real friends. Even if your real, live friends respond to your posts, both of you are having your conversation publicly. Well, people can just ignore it, you might say. Of course, but do they? Do you? You posted it for people to see. And, even if people don’t respond, they’ve heard you, seen you. Then, acquaintances and strangers start to pile on their reactions and their opinions and then more people pile on more reactions and opinions, and, well, you know how this works. You’ve seen how this can go. It’s the worst game of telephone with people you don’t know and will never know ever. Misunderstandings happen. Feelings get hurt. Tempers can rise. Real people can be harmed – in real life.


Why do we do this? Why do we allow a post by a stranger in another state or country – or even more absurd, a computer program – get us fired up? We’re like little children in highchairs being spoon fed our really unhealthy food, and we are ravenously eating it all up.


Listen. I do get it. I am equally subject to all of it, just as much as you are. But I don’t have to buy in and neither do you. Return to my mantra: I am no more. I am no less.


I am no more. I am no less.


The more I say it, the calmer I feel. And it goes way beyond social media. A car cuts you off. You got Wordle in two guesses. Your partner ignores you. I am no more. I am no less. You score big with your presentation. A customer service rep is rude. You volunteer in the soup kitchen. I am no more. I am no less. A mentally ill person on the street curses you. You speak five languages fluently. You aren’t sure if you’ll make the rent this month. I am no more. I am no less.


We are all different in many ways and always will be, and we are all the same.


I am no more. I am no less. I am no more. I am no less. I am no more. I am no less.

 

2/17/2025

 

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