I admit to being a Facebook fan. I don’t think I’ve reached the addictive
stage but I do love the connections and the inspirational postings and the news
from friends old and new. I love the
opportunity to connect on a daily basis and to check up on what is gong on
easily and quickly with those who are far away.
I now have a few hundred friends on Facebook. I know that on one level I can’t really say
that they are all friends in the sense that I know and have spent time with
them. I don’t know their circumstances
or their families or their experiences.
However, I do count them as acquaintances, I do care about the ups and
downs of their lives and I do try to be supportive when I see a need.
One of the features of Facebook I am most grateful for is
the birthday reminders. Keeping track of
even my close family members’ birthdays has always been a challenge for me and
to be reminded is a blessing.
The other day, however, I realized that as far as
acknowledging birthdays on Facebook and responding to its reminders goes I was,
without consciously thinking about it, displaying a behavior that left me
uncomfortable. I was only selectively
wishing people Happy Birthday using some vague criteria of how well I thought I
knew them that was based not much in fact but more in how I was feeling that
day at that time. I was ignoring a whole
bunch of birthdays because, well, they weren’t really my friends were
they? They were just Facebook
connections and therefore I was not obliged to wish them many happy returns.
What?
Where did that come from?
What if just one of those people didn’t get a single message on their
birthday? What if I could have changed
that by just typing two simple words? It
doesn’t take much of an effort to check the birthday reminders every day and
type in a greeting. I know it brings a
smile to my face when I get those good wishes so I am sure it works that way
with others too.
From that moment I changed my behavior. Now the first thing I do when I get on
Facebook every day is check the birthdays and send out greetings, whether I
know the person well or not. More often
than not, later in the day, I get a Thank You back and I know that I have
contributed just a little to someone’s good day.
I began to think that the idea that Facebook friends are not
true friends is only the result of thinking that my friends deserve a better
kind of treatment than everyone else I meet.
Oh boy, that realization gave me the shudders!
Why would I have two standards of treatment for people just
because I know some and don’t yet know others?
That doesn’t now seem to make much sense.
What if we all treated everyone we meet as a true
friend? What if we give them the
attention and love we give to our friends and family? What kind of a place would the world be if we
all followed that philosophy and performed those actions? I wouldn’t mind betting that it would be a
far better place than it is now.
Old habits die hard as they say and changing my behavior
around others is a challenge but I believe it is worth the effort. I’ve made a start by wishing everyone a Happy
Birthday on Facebook not just those I know well.
In my neighborhood, most people smile and wave as they drive
by each other. If they are walking they
say good morning. I love that! As a result we have a friendly community
where people support one another and offer help in time of need.
Treating everyone as if they matter (because they do!)
yields wonderful results not just on birthdays but everyday. Try it!
No comments:
Post a Comment