A Selfie Habit
Looking around the world today, we often see a whole lot of “all about me” society. Women – not relying on men for protection, support, or companionship. Men – too into themselves to show their vulnerable side to women. TV shows and movies often portray their characters are very independent and self-focused. When you actually dig deep into these people, they are often filled with self-pity – the ugly sister of selfish.
If you are on social media at all, I would guarantee you’ve seen selfie posts of people posing alone. I guess that actually is what a ‘selfie’ is. A well-known comedian (Sebastian Maniscalo) would call these taking a lonely. Because essentially, that is what they are. A lonely. You are all by yourself, no one to share. A self-pity moment being put out there for all to see.
Side Note: To see this funny ‘bit’ Sebastian Maniscalo does, click HERE to watch on YouTube.
What if you pressed that little strange button on your phone? You know the one. That little circle with the arrows (in the camera app for those unsure). Pressing this will open up a whole new world for you. It will change your perspective. Your focus. Your circumstance.
Now, the focus is on others.
Now, the perspective is on the beautiful canvas of the world.
Now, you may begin to feel less selfish and more fulfilled (at least I hope).
Sometimes, pressing that strange circle/arrow button is difficult. It causes you to change your focus from yourself onto the world – onto others. But! It can be lifechanging. It can definitely be easy going through life with an ‘only look out for yourself’ attitude as it can often be a defense mechanism if you’ve been hurt or disappointed. However, self-pity and selfishness will only isolate us in the end resulting in unhappiness, hurt, frustration, and judgement. It can even be simply a selfie habit.
My family laughs at me. For some strange reason, I cannot take a selfie. It takes me shot after shot to actually get an ‘ok’ one. It’s like I turn into Chandler (from Friends) when I try. Remember that episode where he was going to get pictures done and whenever the camera turned on him, his smile when all weird? Well, I end of doing something really strange whenever I try – my smile is weird, I have no neck, my face looks strange, I cut off our faces, have a deer in the headlights look, or my eyes aren’t even looking at the camera.
My husband believes it is because my heart isn’t selfish – so when I am trying to take a ‘selfie’, my mind doesn’t understand. When I am in a picture with others, my strange weird camera quirks don’t surface.
So, what setting is your camera on? If it has been on the selfie mode, why not press that button and switch it? You just may be surprised at what your change in focus will be. Overtime, when you are continually putting your focus onto others, you just may see how amazing it is and the happiness it brings to your soul.
If you want to read more about becoming less selfish and more other’s focused, try out a great devotional I just finished called ‘What About Me’ . It’s by Joyce Meyer and it’s fantastic! I think each time I read one of her devotionals, it inspires a blog. She has a way of opening up my eyes to see the world in a new perspective and she certainly did with this one as well.
So, as you go about your day today – open your eyes to the world ahead of you. Snap a shot of your family playing a board game or having fun, your spouse doing something they love to do, or complete strangers in the park out for a stroll. Filling your heart up with the thought of others will fill your day up with an abundance of joy. For me, my family fills up my heart and scrolling through my photo’s is like opening the door of my heart. Pure love.
