In the online world, I have heavily unfollowed people who 1. Are very toxic - irrespective of their position on any ideology spectrum 2. Post only their personal party pictures and such
This is because dissipation of mental energy directly impacts my health, productivity and happiness now. I am actively trying to re-create the internet of the 90s for myself, a place that can enhance my creativity and expand my horizons, without giving up the things that have developed on the internet in the meanwhile. Two exceptions in the context of unfollowing people that I find interesting: 1. I have unfollowed a good friend and CS professor, even though I admire him and he does not vouch for any bubble. Reason: Though his posts have the garb of deep reason, abstraction etc., it still is heavily tension laden with the acute need to educate the world. Occasionally I go to his timeline and see what he has posted and read the ones I want to read. 2. There is a lady who is extremely caustic and yes, toxic, who writes in Hindi -- I have not unfollowed her. I mostly skim over her posts, sometimes read them, sometimes I read the comments on her posts. Somehow, despite she being so cutting in all of her posts (and she posts frequently), I have not felt the need to unfollow her. Her presence in my newsfeed does not create an acidic distaste in me. In the offline world, I used to live in a rather isolated bubble, in my intellectual world fascinated with science, philosophy, art. I am increasingly trying to step out of the bubble, while not doing disservice to my inherent introvert personality. This means now I go, without a sense of distaste, and with an open mind, to gatherings where people may be largely talking only of stuff that I have zero interest in (clothes, maids, financial markets for example). I am still not interested in those topics, but I am interested in the energy space of people. In whatever setting that I may meet people offline, at home or outside, I try to connect to the energy space of the person and the gathering. This has made a tremendous difference in my interaction with the world -- I have learnt much and feel more satisfied with my interactions. In the offline world, there is a lot to be heard, observed, seen in people -- apart from the explicit words they are saying. This is the way I try to remain open and not in filter bubbles as much as I can. The political scenario, which is essentially the same locally or globally, mostly does not disturb me. I see it as a naturally consequence of evolution and the rapid recent changes in the world -- changes that are bewildering and scary for most people, even if they do not consciously realize that. It is making inherent fears and festers that have been simmering underneath, come out. That is good. It is an opportunity for healing via greater awareness (and consequent action). It does not matter what ideology a person holds. If she is upset, it means she is scared. Yes, things can, and most probably will, get uglier, because fear makes us do ridiculous things and fear is highly contagious. If we can navigate it with awareness, agility and compassion maybe we will be able to make it to post-upheaval, directly or by empowering those that come after us. I mostly do not feel a need to educate anyone, fix the world or anyone's way of thinking -- that is why I rarely feel the need to engage in debates. I do feel a desire to express myself, which I do via my writings -- whatever anyone might want to pick up or infer from there. -- Vani Murarka * vani expressions - blog writings <http://manaskriti.com/vani-expressions/> * काव्यालय (Kaavyaalaya: House of Hindi Poetry) <http://kaavyaalaya.org> * गीत गतिरूप - कवि का अनोखा साथी <http://manaskriti.com/geet-gatiroop>
