The Price of Perfection

There are people who suffer from vanity on Facebook, and the manifestation of this is that they show off everything they have. Showing off their husbands, children, jobs, beautiful houses, luxury cars, expensive gifts, degrees, achievements... Unconsciously, they build a perfect life online and find satisfaction through the jealousy and comparison of others, but how much of that perfection is real?

At 8am, A. posted a photo of herself sitting in front of a European-American style breakfast table, in a luxurious restaurant, with a status complaining: Every morning I have a headache not knowing what to eat? Showing off like that, there were hundreds of comments sharing, expressing jealousy and wishing to have a "headache" like her.

At 3:00 p.m., B. typed the status "feeling stressed", along with a photo of a tense negotiation session, in which handsome, talented, rich businessmen were frowning and discussing a million-dollar contract. B. was satisfied with receiving comments praising his talent and excellence, quickly responding to "fans" who encouraged and expressed their trust; few people knew that B. was just a service staff for the event on the outside.

At 6:00 p.m., C. posted a selfie of herself with her waistline and skin brightening edited at the gym, typing: The feeling of sweating after a hard day's work is so wonderful! But who knows, this is the only time in the past 3 months she overcame her laziness to go to the gym, and only sweated for less than 30 minutes?

People like A., B., C., who are usually diligent in showing off, are even more active on Facebook on holidays and Tet. They say “Thank you for your love” with a photo of them holding a bright red rose; they say a photo of two hands holding each other “Let’s go together until the end of our lives”; they check in at famous tourist spots with the status line “Finding some peace in the midst of the hustle and bustle of life”…

Using Facebook for more than 16 years, I have learned that anyone who often shows off: shows off in public, shows off in secret, shows off in secret, shows off in a subtle way... more or less often has a real life that is not as expected. Many people show off their husbands and wives, radiant happiness, abundant gifts, doting husbands, obedient children, excellent morals... but who knows that behind that are long nights of tears, loneliness, disobedient children, husbands who drink a lot...

In reality, happy people are often quiet and discreet, they are satisfied with living a life of material and spiritual abundance without the need to flaunt it to the world. On the contrary, not daring to generalize, but there are also people who are “happy on Facebook”, because they desire glittering things so much that they embellish their perfect image and expect others to look at them and praise them. True happiness is often very simple, without needing anyone to acknowledge it; fake happiness always needs to be supported by the illusionary bubbles of praise.

People who “live in virtual worlds” tend to be increasingly pressured by their own need for perfection. They may initially write randomly, post a few photos for fun, but later, when people’s comments tend to be compliments and jealousy, they unconsciously do not dare to show their real life and real personality anymore.

We see that nowadays, how many people are still “surfing Facebook” in real life? Aggressive people often preach morality, hot-tempered people often appear to have a soul, people who say they love their wives and children with sarcastic words turn out to be abusive, people who always write about their family with all respect are cheating… Honestly, sometimes even people who “live virtually” and seek perfection online do not know that they are “living virtually”, because when they “live virtually” a lot, their minds gradually believe it is real!

In the “Tao Te Ching” it is written: “The five colors blind people; the five tones deafen people; the five flavors numb people’s tongues.” That is to say, when you intentionally create a “superior” life on social media, you are also gradually covering up your senses and numbing your emotions.

You split yourself into two: one half lives in reality with all the chaos and hardships; the other half “lives in a virtual world” with self-created sparkles. Although two are one, although one is two, this virtual reality binds your senses, preventing you from becoming a righteous, upright, and just being.

Worrying about maintaining a perfect image online without realizing how many opportunities you have missed in real life, leaving you exhausted and tired of living a life that is not true to yourself. The price of perfection online is broken and hurt in real life, but does everyone realize that true happiness is not the kind of happiness found in the mouths of others, but what you feel with your heart, quietly flowing and lasting.