Hashtags are Old

I love tea and I love my coffee.

Pu’-erh, Guan Yin, Matcha, Liecha, Lapsang, Darjeeling, Assam, Pekoe, etc,. I tag my teas.

Light roast, medium roast, dark roast, Espresso, Cappucino, Americano, French Press, Pour Over, Moka Pot, etc. I tag my coffee.

Good or bad, happy or sad, success or failure, pain or pleasure, etc. I tag my thoughts.

But, wait a moment, is tagging my coffee the same as tagging my thoughts?

Coffee is the same. Where you see Espresso, I see Espresso.

Thoughts are not. Where you see an obstacle, I see an opportunity.

Where you see pain, I see progress.

What “isn’t” for me, “is” for you.

This teaches us a valuable lesson. That certain situations around us are not what they seem to be, but they are what we make of it.

Tagging thoughts, situations, and things aren’t new, they’ve been a part of human life since eternity. We need tags – to sift through the complex environment we are a part of. I need tags for my tea and coffee. Without (hash)tags, life would be a mess, also my tea. But with too many of them, life isn’t peaceful either.

Till about a decade ago, hashtags were in use in smaller groups – may be in our thoughts, among friends, or family. They exploded with the advent of Social Media. They’re in vogue now.

Q: Where do we need to drop their use?

A: Thoughts and situations.

Q: How?

A: Let us step away from our thoughts and situations for a moment. Is the situation/ thought in itself good or bad? No, it isn’t. Thoughts or situations are just themselves. They simply are. They don’t intend to hurt us or bring us pleasure. We sculpt them into being whatever we want them to be. We attach labels to them – tag them.  

A cup shatters, it just broke. 

I won a lottery, it is just a lottery.

Contemplating on the independent nature of things and events helps bring clarity. It helps ease the unnecessary grind that we put ourselves in to during challenging times.

When put in a challenging situation, do not label it. Instead view it as a part of life. On removing the labels, the situation immediately boils down to a puzzle. Instead of lamenting over the helplessness of the situation, piece together the jigsaw. This is the greatest advantage of having an objective view of things and situations.

Tag thoughts and situations less.

Tag your coffee though. And, your tea. They need it.

Cover Photo by Jan Baborák on Unsplash