![]() Before reaching out to someone became as easy as gliding your thumb across a phone screen, people used to grip quills to form words across a paper. It is easy to forget that we were not always as connected as we are today. Either way, life gets lived in between the little snippets we share. Or we are looking for words of solace, to understand and appreciate life. Perhaps somewhere within ourselves we are all looking for an audience to entertain. We share them with whoever is listening, and at times, even if they are not. We read, live, and tell each other hundreds of such stories everyday. Behind the differences of these two people and their media of expression, lies an invariable sameness – a story that we can relate to. We know this 19 th century European painter better as Vincent Van Gogh. The second is some neatly cursive scribbling over parchment by a Dutch impressionist painter living in considerable destitution. ![]() Using a mobile application to post photos from her daily life is how she chooses to express herself everyday. The first is a glimpse of life given by a 30-something mother of four children, living in the land of abundance. ![]() The two examples may be starkly different from each other – several eras and media apart. Either way, you have been an audience to their story, and that is perhaps all that was needed. But if you are somewhat of a cynic you may just scoff at their display of dreary vanity. If you are an optimist, their indulgence may be interpreted as well deserved. The things I bought are really not superfluous. Do not worry about these expenses, and do not accuse me of extravagance…I must tell you that those clothes I bought are well cut and look better on me than any others that I can remember.’īoth anecdotes betray strains of indulgence, guilt, and reassurance. It’s true that the first suit would have been quite sufficient, but it is much better to have two suits because they last longer when one can alternate them. It turned out so well that I bought another coat and pair of trousers from the same man. ‘As I told you, about a month ago I bought a pair of trousers and a coat, secondhand. A 27-year-old man in Brussels confesses of indulging in similar excesses to his parents, There is also a letter, written several decades ago in a country several miles away from America. The post ends in gratitude for an uneventful shopping trip that gave her the chance to indulge in buying a new dress. She dwells on how her life seems like an uphill task without a moment’s rest on most days – as it is for many distraught young parents. The woman who posted the photo, talks about celebrating life’s little victories and rewarding yourself without guilt. The babies seem cheerful and the cart looks full. There is a picture on my Instagram feed: two toddlers seated in a shopping cart outside a major American supermarket. Could an Instagram post replace a long-hand letter? Could you accuse/credit one of more personality than the other? The jury is out.
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