Facebook and the Pursuit of Happiness

Photograph of poet Edward Dorn

I don't know who Brainard Carey is. All I know is that he is on Facebook. He showed up in the "People You May Know" module. He knows five people I know. Facebook is funny. Whether people love it or hate it, they are most definitely talking about it. In fact, I was shocked during the holidays that almost every gathering I attended, the big ol' FB came up as a topic of conversation. Does it build communities? Is it isolating? Does it detract from facetime? Does it foster relationships? So who is this Brainard? Should I know him? Do I care? Perhaps not. No, definitely not. But i love a part of the description he wrote about his project Dreams + Possibilities....enough to repost it here, a blog that is no more that a silent ripple in an ocean of flotsam blogging and jetsam posting.

"Every day, all of us, no matter what our job or position in society, engage in a battle that is so personal it is often heard by no one except ourselves. Why is it that we are grumpy, critical or negative one moment and generous and happy the next? As we all read books and try to understand the mysteries of life, we wage our personal war with as much success as possible. And as we read in the news of the polished lives of celebrities and others, we can easily be led to believe that we are alone in our personal battles, and that only if we had more of something we would be at peace."