THE REAL QUESTION INSTAGRAM IS ASKING YOU.

"There have been such gems amongst us, who changed the course of the world, because they could look at the world differently. Their thinking was unique & not everyone understood them. They were opposed, yet they emerged winners & the world was amazed."


This little boy of 8 years was sitting at the right hand corner of the class when he was given a mathematical problem to solve,


The more he stared at the question, the more he saw it moving backwards.


Haba! What was happening.


He was really confused. Then he would take a peek at what others were doing & seeing how concentrated they were, he returned to the sheet of paper before him.


Already stressed and not wanting to struggle any further, he stared at the window glass that reveals passerby moving from one place to the other.


He was more at peace right there than solving the mathematical problem in front of him that made his teacher call him names likened here to be,


"You are an empty head."

"Oh common, why are you this useless?"

"Why can't you be like others. You are a waste of resources."


Every single teacher in his first school humiliated him.


He was really a pathetic case unlike his elder brother.


That one was an academic genius and excelled again &again in that same school.


What could be the issue was on everyone's lips as they blamed his non-concerned attitude on bad behaviour, laziness & lack of discipline.


Then comes his father who was more frustrated with his ability to keep up in class, even in the SIMPLEST of tasks.


The young lad felt so isolated from even his family he thought would stand fully by him. It was clearly visible when he drew an image of his family together and flipping through slowly, you could see how each member of the family were gradually moving out of the picture.


But when the Father saw how close he was to loosing his son, he broke down and wept. Like a little child, his dad cried.


But when they saw how marvellously he drew at the school arts festival, they were stunned.


It was like not expecting water to be squeezed out of a stone.


Such a talent, everyone exclaimed.


His name was Ishaan Aswasthi. Adapted from the movie, "Like stars on earth."


Recently, Instagram hid the number of likes in a post,


Such that you could only see the number of likes in your own post but not that of others.


According to Facebook Australia & New Zealand director of public policy Mia Garlick in a statement, she says,


"We hope this test will remove the pressure of how many likes a post will receive, so you can focus on sharing the things you love."


What people are not realizing is that this is a call for SELF REFLECTION.


And the big question they are posing is,


"What is really true about you?"


For social media has made us equate LIKES to mean that we are providing VALUE whilst if there are no likes, then it is 'garbage.'


No wonder so many pretend to do things they don't want to do because it would garner the kind of applause they need.


They would rather get the outside shiny and rosy, meanwhile on the inside, they are pale & fading away.


Do you behave in a certain way or love a particular post because it resonates with you or,


That is what others are doing.


Sometimes what a person can offer to the world is not mainstream or one of those core interests area.


For now, we would be able to see on Instagram, out of the box thinking and spur of the moment, original ideas. Unedited photos.


Without comparison, who are you really?


Just maybe that is what you need to focus on.


Your mental health is important.


Ask yourself that question again.


People hire me to help their child or youths beteeen age 19-29 who feel meaningless find life exciting and fun again.


Remember, you need to be shameless in order to be free.
S.F

Photo credit: lyricsoff.