I got there 30 minutes early. I was short on time to work on the agenda of our meeting, & needed every extra minute before my mentor arrived. I grabbed a table at the most desolate corner of the hospital cafeteria & started typing.

Soon a bunch of people grabbed the table next to me, high on life & noisy. Of all the tables they had to pick this one, I grumbled internally. The more they chatted the more I fumed. I just couldn’t concentrate on my work. One of the group, a girl with short auburn hair wanted to take a group selfie. This increased the jollity as well protest. Another bl**dy annoying instafood photo that no one cares about, I muttered under my breath. I looked up to glare at the crowd when I noticed someone sneering. “Oh let’s post a selfie on Facebook. Look! We drink posh coffee & have a lot of friends”, he derided. Girl with short auburn hair, the target of this sneer looked so deflated! It made me pause. I had not said anything out loud, but in my irritation I was just as judgemental as that guy.

The group had a good time & my meeting went well yet I still felt bad about the girl with short auburn hair. We have all sneered like that guy: be it post-run photos, status updates about someone’s day or relationship, photos of kids doing what kids usually do, baked goods; you name it. Heck, it’s so common place that there are piles of articles about what annoys people on social media!

We all update social media when something matters to us yet we judge others based on what brings them joy. Isn’t that hypocritically silly? What do they say about glass house & stones? In principle that girl posting about a cuppa with friends is the same as us posting about a run we enjoyed, a trip we want to promote, or snowfall on a winter evening. It’s an expression of what made us happy. If we sneer at it because we arbitrarily think someone is showing off, perhaps it says more about us than the person we deride.

Reminds me of what The Minimalists once wrote-

“…Judgement is but a mirror reflecting the insecurities of the person who’s doing the judging.”

So, Girl with short auburn hair- you go ahead & post selfies that capture moments of joy. The rest of us will learn to be happy for you!