Why does social media make us so unhappy?
“Mirror, Mirror on the wall…. Who is the fairest of them all?” chanted the pale-faced queen as she stared deeply into her enchanted mirror. To her dismay, another beautiful maiden slowly materialized on the silvery smoky surface.
“Another girl?!” gasped the shocked queen as she scrunched up her face in frustration and envy. “We have already poisoned the last 6 maidens that have appeared in this mirror. How many more will we have to deal with before I am finally declared the fairest of them all?”
At that very moment, her wooden door swung open and a haggard looking mercenary tumbled in. “My Queen…” mumbled the burly man as he bowed low to the ground. “Did you require my services again?”
“Yes, Grendel…this is your next target!” hissed the queen as she pointed her long slender finger towards her glowing mirror.
“My lady…” stammered the worn out man. “Why are you asking me to do this dreaded thing to yet another one of these innocent girls?”
“Because I just want to be happy!” she screamed as she stormed out of the room and slammed the door shut.
The force of the closing doors shook the entire room violently. And the mercenary was horrified as he lunged for the wobbling mirror. But it was too late, it came crashing down onto the ground.
The mercenary hastily picked up the mirror and put it back in place. He then quickly scurried out before he could be blamed.
The next morning, the cold-blooded queen reappeared in front of her mirror. She chanted her incantation. And she waited anxiously to see who would appear next on her enchanted mirror. But for the first time in her life, she was surprised and delighted to see her own reflection staring back at her. It took her a minute to realize her mirror was cracked and broken. But her inability to compare herself with others has finally freed her to experience happiness.
Even though most of us don’t own enchanted mirrors, we all do own phones. And unfortunately our phones are tools that end up stealing away our happiness because it tempts us to compare ourselves with the rest of the world. Only when we stop comparing, do we finally appreciate and value the beauty that is found in our own personal lives.
