Me in Me

[Thoughts inspired by James P. Carse & Robert Fulghum]

I am on facebook because a friend invited me. And all this hype about facebook, friendster, myspace…I think I am just not into it (but I will try). Like I wrote about it previously (Hola, mi amigo), it’s not so much about the number of friends I have, how wide my network is, BUT how strong the friendship is. Likening it to a spider’s web…it may look fragile with its thin, silken threads, but mighty resilient it is (I hope).

I have nothing against such social networking…in fact, this human connectedness is becoming very powerful. Think guerilla marketing.

Another reason why I am not highly excited about it…is I believe that humans are multi-faceted beings. So many personas we adopt in our lives – our work persona, our private self, the front we present to family vs. friends vs. colleagues vs. clients…

Even as I am writing this, I am also aware that you, as the reader, are forming some impression of me. So the ‘me’ you are seeing now could be the ‘blogging me’ (a gentle reminder as well, the blog name says ‘the nomad in me’). Then who’s the real me?

At this stage in life, I would say I live in a world with more grey zones than black-and-white ones. The question is not about how real I am and who the real me is. I believe what you see is part of the ‘real me’. I am also beginning to realise I shouldn’t say “jus be me" or "jus be yourself” anymore…because which self shall you or I be at that moment, since it’s already part of you or I?

Inner voice

Listen hard.
It’s there.

When you are making a decision, responding or reacting to a situation, voices in your head that probably say something like this…

"Yea, that’s the way to go."
"Hold on, you sure you want to do this?"
"Is this the right move?"
"Hmm…something ain’t right…"

Devil’s advocate, true essence of who you are, Freudian’s theory of superego, the voice that can empower one, the gut feel, the sixth sense…whatever name it is called…it’s there.

An irrefutable truth is that you know the voice is right. Try to go against it and you feel a pang of guilt. Which give rise to hesitation…and possibly regret not heeding the voice.

Amid the buzz surrounding us, it’s easy to lose ‘sight’ of it. So don’t lose it.

Believe it's something that connects every one of us. Somehow deep down, we just know it...because sometimes the inner voice echoes the thought of the stranger just seated next to you.

Stay connected

Connectivity. Being connected at anywhere - at work, home, school, etc – at anytime, with anyone who’s connected. Mobile phones. Email. Blackberry. Messenger. Social networking sites. Blogs. Hmm, what else did I leave out?

Then here’s a hypothetical scenario (think can try permuting the order too):
If I can’t get you on the phone, I can drop you an email. If there’s no reply, I see if I can reach you online on Messenger to inform you I sent an email to your XX email account (since many of us own numerous email accounts these days). If I still can’t reach you, I see if I can google your name, schools you studied, companies you worked in, anything regarding your background. Who knows – you maybe registered on a social network, belonging to some groups/affiliation. And I can get myself registered on the social network as well, find my affiliated group and according to six degree of separation, I should be able to reach you. Perhaps you happen to have a blog which you placed it in your social network. Which means I can read and find out more about you. I can drop a comment if I want or chat with you via your blog if you are online.

Ok, I am making it sound like stalking, or you can say I am being paranoid. But it’s possible, don't you think? Especially with this ever-increasing connectedness of human beings. Everyone wants to be connected and is connected in some ways somehow. It’s just a matter of tracing it.