We're in a generation of loonies--well, almost, although Dr. Cornelio Banaag, Jr, considered father of child psychiatry in the Philippines, thinks it's just about 20 percent of the world, citing a WHO data. But I think it's more than that. It's definitely higher.
Photo by Portuguese Gravity on Unsplash.
And experts don't exactly say "loonies." One report (LifeStyle.INQ) says "suffering from some form of mental disorder." Yup, it's some form of mental disorder alright. Even some decent, respectable and cultured folks have it. You can't pinpoint what (or where) exactly, but it's there, bordering neurosis and mild psychosis. They seem okay but you see a shade of something mentally twisted somewhere.
And it's not just millennials or post-millennials I'm talking about. I mean, almost everyone. And it has to do with a bloated ego. The preponderance of (or overindulgence in) the "I" and "me" and "my." Almost everyone is just interested about themselves--what they have to say, what they have, and their achievements. Their imagined greatness.
But no, it's not about what people post on FB. I can understand people posting their selfies, their stuffs, ideas, emotions, opinions, achievements, etc. Facebook asks them what's on their minds, so naturally they post accordingly. That's normal. Some smart Aleck said posting selfies reflects a mental disorder. I disagree. Facebook is about "faces," remember? It's a book on faces. So selfies are perfect on FB.
FB is like an album. What do you put on albums? Your pictures, number one. Then pictures of your loved ones, friends and stuffs. Why do we make albums like this? To show them to friends. So, selfies are nothing new. It's been with us and no one in the past thought that people who made albums were mentally deranged until this smart Aleck popped up from nowhere and said selfies were a sign of abnormality.
But what I'm talking of are folks who can't stop talking about themselves in conversations. And it sickens me to see people talking together, each about himself, sometimes with no one listening to the other. Talking to each other without making conversation because they're busy highlighting themselves. And that to me is abnormal. When you have no other interest but yourself, you have a mental disorder.
Yup, they can engage in lively conversations and may seem to be listening to folks they're talking to. But they're not. They may even appear to be concerned about your story but they'd just give you a few seconds to have your say and then cut you short and start talking about themselves the rest of the time. No one's a good listener anymore. That rare breed is an extinct generation. And the inability to listen well is a sign of mental disorder to me.
I was explaining to a pastor one day about why I couldn't travel long distances anymore (due to my dizziness spells) so he wouldn't wonder why I often turn down pastors meetings held in far places. But he just gave me a few moments to explain about it and then talked about himself the rest of the time. I even hardly finished saying my story when he started his.
Another time, a guy invited a guest at a cafe, and normally the guy should entertain his guest by showing interest in him. If I were the guy, I would ask questions about his story and listen to him tell it. But nope. This guy allowed his guest just a few seconds to say something about himself and then dominated the conversation all throughout, talking about his imagined greatness.
The mentally deranged often have this grandiose sense of their imagined greatness.
The bible has lots of positive things to say about humility, simplicity and quietude but this seems to me the most powerful:
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves.. [Philippians 2.3]Continued here...
