An era of self-love

I've been wanting to write this post for some time now. I remember even having this conversation with a professor – who knew you could further upon blog topics with professors at a happy hour!? He supplied me with scholarly confirmation of some of the thoughts I am about to put on here today.

Well, the first thing that got me thinking about this era was the self-image capture feature of the iphone, or any new smart phone for that matter. People took their own pictures long ago as well --  my first memory of such pictures is with my dad saying he is putting the camera on “auto” on a family vacation in Jaipur. This auto clicking lasted many years, and it still stands as a viable, but less frequent option. For frequent picture-taking, of course, we got cameras on our phones, and the pixels on these got better and better with time. People began to take more pictures, capturing moments of their lives they wanted to hold on to. Eventually, people realized they also wanted to be able to choose what angle of themselves they want to capture. And here came a true selfie (you can take a selfie even without self-image capture feature, but you cannot adjust yourself to the angle you want as a true selfie would allow it).

When I was at the MOMA recently, it struck me how artists have really tried to capture themselves through self-portraits. As a matter of fact, it made me remember an old friend from high school taking art courses explaining that self-portraits were a common part of an art class. I remember finding the concept intriguing, not quite sure yet of its deeper implications.

While at the MOMA, I realized it was not just about their image, but how artists had tried 

to capture their life, their pain, their suffering, their existence, their conflicts with society, not knowing what would come of the paintings or their own lives in the future. I guess I felt that way about this blog when I first started it, and continued to find solace through writing in the same way. Of course, these cell phone pictures allowed an easy medium to the layman who doesn’t believe in his/her art skills to also share sorrow, joy, capturing the journey. I remember seeing my friend’s self-portrait, thinking I wish I could capture myself with such art – and now in some weird way, I can…

Of course, there are many people who outwardly speak against the selfie culture, and while I understand some of their concerns, call me an optimist, but I quite like the selfie culture. As with any technology, it is how we use this new medium that matters most. Our values guide our usage of technology, not vice versa. I think it is beautiful to want to share yourself, to think of yourself as beautiful, to think of yourself as worthy, to want your existence to matter for whatever it is, accomplished or not, fat or skinny, happy or sad. A digital click is just a more accessible art form than the ones we now have in expensive museums. You’re worth it, I’m worth it. This is the profound realization for me in our era.

Yes, this may be a self-centered, individualistic society, but there is a twist on Ayn Rand’s selfishness (though I do not really disagree with her main idea) – we can be centered around our highest selves, said one of my cutting-edge-thinker mentors, and that enhances the quality of our collective consciousness. Right? 

I also remember reading an article recently about online social media, which talked about people pretending like they are connected, but are only digitally connected, and not physically in each other’s lives. They only have superficial connections, but not true ones. I didn’t quite agree with this article – I think you can use the same social media for smaller number of connections, but deeper connections. We are merely given a platform with choices. As it is with any type of choice or freedom, the ends of it must be explored to finally settle into a wondrous equilibrium.

This is an amazing time in our world. I’d say let’s embrace the self-love. I had a friend ask me just recently – do you love yourself (as he shared with me that he didn’t yet)? Two years ago, I would not have known what that meant. But today, I can answer it with a yes, I almost always have, to the best of my ability. And today, my ability to love myself is facilitated by enlightened and aware friends that know that this is eventually a crucial step. Yes, we can look at how divorce rates are high these days – but let’s focus on the beauty of this era as well. Let’s reassess the metrics with which we assess the modern world. After all, it is the era of self-love, let’s love who we are today, for who knows what beauty that may bring about. True love for all, including myself.