A second, a minute, an hour, a day, a week, a month, and a year.
Time knows no bounds when you’re suffering. For those who are in brighter places, they never seem to have enough time. However, to others, there’s another issue: the matter of too much time.
A-B-C-D-E-F-G
From the very beginning, we’re drilled with the English alphabet. Such is the norm for many across the world. Yet, at the same time, English tends to go hand in hand with another subject- Mathematics. While we caution of the power that words hold, we forget that along the way we are nothing but a data-driven society.
Forget words, numbers have the power to change us.
Let’s get a little dark for a second, now shall we?
For those with an eating disorder, numbers sprawled within their diaries of the pounds they weigh haunt them constantly.
With anxiety, one’s continuously counting the seconds ticking by during an attack.
All those suffering from depression just wait and wait for the day to be done- wishing at times that peaceful sleep would end it all.
The everyday teenager mulls away their time wondering where it all went wrong- measuring their worth through social media likes and comments and all.
Scums of politicians watch in gluttonous glee as their rise in popularity soars.
Somewhere in a dark corner, a young child counts the days they’ve gone hungry for
While those dire terrorists take pleasure in the drastic death toll.
And of course, let’s not forget the very fact of it all, grades define us, do they not?
Money makes the world round, as it always does
It’s a shame to be naught in this twenty-first-century machine we are choking, we are falling.
Conceived by predetermined notions, we are digits on a wall.
Nothing more, nothing less our minds tend to deceive us.
Everything is immaculate until it’s not
With our mental diaries and their numbers
The issue isn’t this number interdependency; it’s our failure to acknowledge it. Today, we chide those with fewer follows or social media stats. Older generations rebuke us for the way we look or the grades we achieve. There’s this entire stigma around words being harmful, without realizing how dangerous numbers have become too. So, there’s nothing surprising when our mental health tends to take a toll when we have these insurmountable pressures thrust upon us.
Here’s the real question, is there a way out of what I deem the ‘number interdependency effect’? The answer to that is, it’s hard to say.
Our first step is to acknowledge its presence. By doing so, we garner more understanding of the suffering we’re all subjugated to.
Secondly, normalize being imperfect. There’s so much turmoil going on in the world. So start your day by posting something authentic, engaging in something real. Make Instagram casual again! You’re allowed to make mistakes of any kind. Numbers need not take away your ability to grow from your mistakes.
Finally, redefine what they mean to you. This is a tricky step but a much-needed one. Mapping out society’s expectations versus your very own is essential- don’t get trapped in what you need to be. For that stops you from being who you can be.
Whatever the case is, let’s call out the elephant in the room. This may be the world that we live in, but not for long. Take a chance, erase those numbers, and start by embracing the entirety of everything. Time is precious, why waste it drowning in these numerals? Perhaps then in the future, we’ll plague ourselves of these digits, of this myopic view that damages our mental health, this callous-
Number Interdependency.