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Why Do I Hate Inspirational Memes

Remember when college kids had posters of Lamborghinis with a beautiful woman on top of the hood with the word "Dream" or "Desire" or "Success?" You probably don't or had forgotten all about them because they were stupid, immature, and only the dumb superficial kids had such things. Allow me to introduce social media's version: The Inspirational Meme.

They come in all shapes and sizes, but usually have a backdrop consisting of clouds, water, a green field, a dock, rain, someone walking down a desolate road (always barefoot), etc. They contain words meant to sound deep for people who don't have the intellect to understand philosophy, who don't read much or are too lazy to post their own thoughts.  This combination of simplistic thought is meant to conjure likes, gain attention from those starved, and to create a false sense of self-worth, not for the person posting but for the reader. Most people who post these things are not at all the people they want you to believe.

There are those who post about not wanting anything but those who they care about. These people are almost always selfish, materialistic to the brink of being hoarders, and generally, have very few people they care about, if any at all, other than themselves.

There are the God posts. Generally, from people who don't go to church, don't pray, don't follow any rules or expectations of their faith, and are generally neutral to bad people.

There are the people who speak of love but show it rarely. They love themselves and post of a love that they deem themselves worthy of but would never invest their energies to attain.

There are those who claim they do not judge people and refuse to be judged, the memes usually containing something about not caring. The irony, of course, is that someone who didn't care wouldn't take time to post. The second irony is that if they're posting this, they are judging those who they are friends with, trying to inspire guilt.

There are those who post about their inner strength, once again, blind to the fact that by posting this, they're claiming to be hurt, wounded, or vulnerable, and actively saying they aren't as strong as they appear. This one is illogical to the point of stupidity.

There is the positivity posts, generally posted by those who live their lives on social media but live very miserable lives, often being anti-social and creating drama with every move.

There are also those who post the perfect life/spouse/significant other memes. These are almost always by people who are in some rocky territory, often the morning after a fight. These are almost always posted for the object of their anger to read, with the hopes of triggering guilt, remorse, or simply acknowledge them. This is probably the easiest to read, because anyone who truly loves someone and feels they are their (cringe word) soul mate, would express so in their own words; privately.

Hundreds more exist, but so many people are probably offended, I'll end with my last one

Karma

Karma is not revenge. Actually, to post the very thought that karma is revenge would negatively affect your karma and your life and every subsequent life would forever be tainted by your desire for retribution. Why is this simple word so hard for Westerners to comprehend?

Here's a thought. The next time you feel like expressing yourself. Post your own words, your favorite poem, your favorite book, work of art, movie, song, person, animal, flower and simply leave it./ Then wait to see if anyone who you were hoping to connect with, for whatever reason, reaches out. If people really know you and care about you, like you claim to care about them, they will understand. It's actually that simple, and it's real, and it's from you.

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