Wandering the crowded southern California landscape as I have been of late, I notice many things about its bipedal denizens. What strikes me most is the air of urgency, of entitlement, and of myopic vision. That is, many seem to see only what's right in front of them--blocking their way--and do not take time to really be in the moment. To really see their surroundings. To understand that the suffocating concrete wilderness that they call home is perhaps a trap; even more, to understand that it is one of their own making.
Sometimes people here do not seem to be really living. They're existing, sure. But are they paying attention to their own existence? Do they really know who they are and what the heck they're doing, as they zoom and carom around, pinging off one another with barely an honest glance, intent on hurrying to the goal of--what, exactly? The all-powerful god of mass consumerism? Getting through the day in order to fall insensate before the altar of surround sound and 24-hour satellite channels beamed in from around this frantically spinning globe?
I want to reach out. I want to hug someone with jumpy, flat eyes, and say, Go. Go to a truly wild spot, one with fresh air and solitude and a tree with which you can commune in silence for an hour. Remove yourself from the madding crowd for just a moment, and blunder and stumble your way back to who you really are.
Perhaps then we can really talk. Perhaps then you will meet my eyes and look at me, really see me, and allow yourself a deep, cleansing breath as you pause in the midst of the chaos we call modern life.
Or maybe not.
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2 comments:
Funny how things come full circle.
I thought about you yesterday and felt only "slightly" good about the part I took in keeping my neighbors car from being broken into.
Around 1000 or so in the morning I was coming home from work and saw a couple little poo butts loitering around my neighbor's car. This in itself was not cause for alarm, they could have been waiting, right?
So, I did my thing and went inside. Several minutes later I could see them walking casually around the car and taking interest in something in the back seat.
DING DING DING!! BFMV ALERT! I secreted myself alongside my living room window and had my cell phone ready to go.
The little poo butts walked out of my line of sight, then a second or so later one of them went running at the car and used his elbow in an attempt to shatter the rear window.
Little fucker. I hope he injured himself. But, the window held and the two of them went running.
I had to somehow find my inner chi because every cell in my body wanted to chase them down and, and, and........well you know.
But I did get into my own car and trail after them as best I could. They knew my car since I had already pulled up in it, and they knew where I lived so I had to be smart about it.
But I did call the police and I followed them as far as I could.
I'm still not sure if they caught the varmints or not...But the only good thing to come out of this is that I met my neighbors, and they seemed very gracious...
Who knows, maybe this is how communities start talking to each other, and watching out for one another.....
Oh well. I had to share that one with you, considering your own experience as of late!
C
Y'know, I never thanked you for this comment. So...thanks!
I am feeling less uneasy about the world since my return to southern Utah, as well as with more and more time put between my present and that day that my belongings were violated and stolen. Guess it's natural...time heals and all that. But knowing that people are thinking supportively about others in similar situations helps too.
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