A Message in a Bottle

Firstly, this post wasn't inspired by the 1999 American romantic drama film. I haven't even watched it, to be quite frank. But I'm certain that the concept is pretty much the same. For all those still oblivious of the term,

A message in a bottle is a form of communication whereby a message is sealed in a container (archetypically a glass bottle, but could be any medium, so long as it floats and remains waterproof) and released into the sea or ocean.

My thoughts about it, however are on a more modern-day platform.

You'd probably think that we're way past the age of messages in bottles especially all the technologically advanced ones among you. Today, we have so many different forms of electronic media that enable us to communicate with each other from practically anywhere. But even in the middle of this age of technological revolution, most of what we share shows likeness to a message in a bottle.

Look at your common social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter. What do you do there?

You post your thoughts, hoping that someone will appreciate them, or give you their opinion. It's like a message in a bottle. You write your thoughts, and you set them free. Out in the open, you have no way of knowing if they will ever find it's way to who it's meant for, or anyone at all, for that matter. It is just floating there, in digital space. Although I'm pretty sure that more of your Facebook posts were replied to, than messages in bottles, you could probably credit that to the growth of our population.

What am I getting at here?

No, I'm not promoting the use of messages in bottles, although I think it would be pretty cool to have someone find a letter from you, sometime in the future. What I'm trying to point out here, is that although we have made so many major advancements in the fields of communication, not much seems to have changed. We're all pieces of the same old puzzle, except that now there are many more pieces, and hence, this puzzle moves much faster. However much we go ahead in terms of technology, there will always be some basic truths that prevail. You can accelerate the process further, maybe even aid it, but you can't bypass the basic need of someone finding interest. That basic element that runs human communication, or any other activity for that matter, interest. You cannot force someone to be interested in what you have to offer. A lot of friend-zoned guys know exactly what that means.

Take your thought, write it down, and set it free. Share it with the rest of the world. If you get responses, nurture and build it with the help of like minded people. If you don't, that doesn't make your thought any less important. When Computers were first being developed, scientists laughed at the idea of anyone using more than 25 MB of memory space in their entire lifetime. Yet, here we are today. Only two decades ago, if I were to tell you that you'd have a device the size of your palm, that would be able to process data at speeds higher than 1.5 GHz, you'd have probably laughed at me.

 "If at first, the idea is not absurd, then there is no hope for it."  

- Albert Einstein

The best way to have a good idea is to have a lot of ideas, and then throw the bad ones away. Your thoughts and ideas have the potential to change the world. But, ideas won't keep something must be done about them. Most revolutions we see around us began as small ideas that everyone else thought was outrageous, yet one person had the courage to see it through. These people are who we call, revolutionaries.

 "There is one thing stronger than all the armies in the world, and that is an idea whose time has come."                           - Victor Hugo

Believe in your ideas. Believe in yourself. And finally, think big.