Self Obsession

This is everywhere in our daily lives but was brought home to me once again on my latest trip up to Johannesburg.

Boarding the flight, sitting cramped next to my fellow passengers in the cattle class, my neighbour in the adjacent seat, settled herself in and then got our her cell phone and proceeded taking literally hundreds of selfies, from every possible angle and facial expression.  The went through editing them all.

On my return trip, in the departure lounge, young girl sat herself down on the floor at my feet, took out all her toiletries and set up her cleansing/make station again on the adjacent seat, and proceeded with her cleansing routine followed by pimple squeezing and then the layers of makeup, finishing off when the flight was called, again with taking a selfie.  Feel a bit like a mother grundy, but is there no longer  a time or place for things in this chaotic life that we live.

But then on typing this and my mind once again going faster that I can type, is this blog of mine also not a form of self obsession.

But then we all as individuals are self obsessed.  We all worry about what others may think, whereas they are not thinking about us at all, as they are thinking about what we are thinking about them and so the cycle goes.  Simple example of this – as having been a mother of teenagers, who did not want to go out because they had a zit on their forehead and didn’t want people staring and my question to them was, “If ……… had a zit on their forehead and you bumped into them at the mall, what would you think”. Their answer was a sheepish “Nothing”.

At the end of the day we are all human and have self doubt, whether you are a brain surgeon or a street sweeper, we are all wired the same and have the same doubts and concerns.  But the degree of this self obsession has taken on a totally new level and it is scary in its extremes.

So remember next time you see someone with a zit on their forehead, know how self conscious they are feeling and don’t insist on taking a selfie with them.

Photo courtesy – Breaking the Illusion of Self Obsession – You Tube