Now that, my friends, is a rather boring introduction...I once wrote an entire "seminar" on introductions, and how to make them work.
Turns out the "seminar" either sucked, or I just failed to listen to myself.
And judging by the huge amount that I love myself, I doubt it was the latter.
But this tangent is also boring.
Or is it?
Did you see what I did there. I started saying something, and the first three lines grabbed you, and asked "yeah, what's your point?" and you are all still hanging on my every word until I get to said point.
Now that I have mentioned the first three words again, you are all thinking, "so he hasn't forgotten, so really...what IS his point".
My point thus far? Well, its that I actually did listen to myself in that "seminar" and I have now drawn you into this entry like a juicy steak on a free buffet.
Yes. I just analogised (go figure! that's actually a word!) myself with juicy steak.
But yes, people fascinate me. (*sigh* oh here he goes)...
***
When I am feeling particularly melancholic (for that word is the flavour of the month), I start thinking about people, networks, the whole six degrees of separation thing. Actually I don't, because that theory is far too organised for my mind.
No, I tend to think about it on a more personal level.
Lets pick something mundane, something that you do everyday, when you meet someone you have never met before.
The shops.
Did you know the name of the last person who served you? What colour was their hair? What did they look like? Did you speak to them? Did they speak to you?
I know that the last time I was at a shop was the petrol station. A friendly old bloke served me, but I didnt speak to him, except to say "pump one" and "have a good evening". I don't know his name. I don't know anything about him. Except that he works in a place that charges me lots of money for dinosaur remains.
What about at school? You get to school, and you see a group of your friends. Automatically you know their name, you speak to them and they speak to you. And you know them well enough to even notice that they are wearing their hair differently, or its a different colour.
That nameless old bloke who served me has a network exactly like that. He has people that would come in and be like "Oh g'day Frank! What a surprise to see you. Are you dealing with it all okay, mate?".
Frank, as he has now been dubbed, has an entire network of people who know him, and know the details about his life. Maybe Frank's wife of 25 years just died, maybe his dog is in surgery, maybe he is working to pay off a gambling debt.
Who knows.
But it makes you think.
Well, it makes me think anyway.
You walk down the street, and every person that you see out in their gardens, driving their cars, tiling their roofs. All those children playing on the streets, the lone teen walking headdown with earphones jammed in, the elderly couple relaxing on their front verandah taking stock of the world around them.
Each one of those people is unique. They know where the weeds grow in the garden, they know the story behind the ripped car seat cover, they know what caused the tiles to break. The kids know the intricate details about the game they are playing, the lone teen knows the source of his sadness, and the elderly couple have decades of history they know about each other.
Each one of these individuals, people you have never met, people you may never see again in your lives, have a network. A mindbogglingly complex network. These people all have their own problems, their own personal adversity. They have an intricate knowledge of their history - the people that have shaped them, the people that mean the most to them, the events that stick clearly in their minds.
Just think about that the next time you go through a checkout.
And thats just for one person.
Apply that to your family. Your brother. Your sister. Your cat's crazy social life.
Apply it to the people in your street. The hundreds of screamy little kids next door. The couple who live a few houses up that are forever looking for their dog (stupid yappy little thing...).
Apply it to the people in your suburb. That overly friendly political candidate vying for community support at the local shops.
Apply it to your region.
Your city.
Your state.
Australia.
Bangladesh.
The Middle East.
The world.
Earth eh?
Its a pretty big place. For such a tiny spec in the universe.
"Space is big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind- bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it's a long way down the road to the chemist's, but that's just peanuts to space."
-Douglas Adams - The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
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4 comments:
First of all, my darling, that is a VERY long blog. I'm impressed. =]
Secondly, "the lone teen walking headdown with earphones jammed in" ...umm, do you not realise that head down is two words? =P
Thirdly, that definitely makes me think. After all that's gone on over the last week, I'm thinking a lot more about other people's lives and how they might affect their moods. I know that I'm getting easily annoyed at certain girls at school who know my situation and seem to somehow forget that that's why I'm acting in such a way. Monday morning - I was upset in tutor group and Caitlin asks me if I'm OK. So, being in the crappy mood I was in, I told her I was fine and dandy in the most sarcastic tone I could manage. She proceeded to get offended, as did I. Then she somehow came around to asking what was the matter. At this I got extremely angry and asked her if she remembered what I had told her the day before. So I became snappy at her for anything she said after that because she had annoyed me and insulted me. So she got offended. Wah.
...There was a point to that. People can't read other people. Despite not knowing the happenings in other people's lives, you'd think that some compassion for someone who is obviously upset could be found. But, no. That's a rare occurrence at grammar. Maybe it happens more outside school. Though, people at school see me most days. You'd think they'd catch on that something might not be right...
Your blog also made me remember that I'm going to the steakhouse in Civic for dinner tomorrow night with my parents, grandfather, his lady friend and my brother. Yay. I really miss my parents.
I always try to be friendly when at work, especially 'cause I work in hospitality. I find that on occasion (it was mainly at the McDonald's at home) that people actually responded positively at 6.30am if I was being nice. The others manage to stay rude. The bastards. It's silly, though. People should appreciate the kindness they find in the world, 'cause they're going to be hard pressed to find it someday.
...I think that it's hard for people to try and think about the private lives of the people in the boarding house, let alone the state or the country. I may have said before that despite tragedies seemingly putting things in perspective, it's still hard to forget about the stuff that happens to you. Personal tragedies are so much more emotive, which, yeah, is unfortunate, but it's true.
...I'm a little melancholic tonight. So have fun with that one.
xxx.
P.S. I now expect/hope for a long email. ;]
OK, so maybe I was a little bit negative last night. Admittedly, there's probably lots of people who have great news for themselves and want to share that with others and don't get the chance because people are preoccupied with themselves and their own lives to care for someone else's.
Damnit, that's still pretty pessimistic. But it's closer to optimistic than before...
xx.
Hmmm.... always very thought inspiring Chris... I liked it.
Sometimes I try and fathom *just* how many stories and lives there are around me. Like as I'm walking through the shops or something, but its a little overwhelming. So many little things that I have no idea about, and yet these things could be incredibly important to these randoms...
Which is also a good thing to think about when you think of how you treat people. I always feel that I should be kind, because I have absolutely no idea of the other persons story... They could be going though very tough times, and the amazing thing is, that I would never know. So many stories....
Imagine.... the size of the computer that would be required to simulate our world... That puts it into perspective for me I think...
Anywho... I cant think of anything else to write, so I might leave it there. BTW, awesome Hitchhikers reference :)
Keep on blogging my friend :)
I don't eat steak.
But I get your drift.
People intrigue me, tonight I saw a girl, and I can remember her face and I also remember the guy who had evil eyes. What an evil eye is I'm not sure.
Also I would like to point out that in this part of Australia there is very little chance to see someone on their front porch. That is a very country thing. Or perhaps in smaller towns.
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