I like watching people just be people. It’s so sad.  In our culture, we are taught to abide by the norms that our society has placed upon us.  We are supposed to look a certain way, behave a certain way, think a certain way… all that we do is supposed to fit precisely “just so” in order for our cultural beliefs to propagate… just as they have done for however many years our western civilization has been this way.

We’re spoon fed the ideas of our teachers: our parents, their parents, and the generation prior.  We’re told that in order to be any one, we must be aesthetically pleasing (and the definition changes as our bodies evolve); we’re told we must act a certain way, and ultimately that we must think a certain way in order to get ahead.

I’m not saying it’s not true, either!  Our system is set up so that we DO get ahead when we play the game right.  And playing the game really isn’t so bad… but it sure does inhibit people from just… BEing.

I like to watch a woman, standing at a crosswalk, absorbed by the busy-ness of the hundreds of people surrounding her, anonymous because even the glances those driving by will soon be lost to the next stimulus, straightening her pantyhose or scratching her ear.  She is no longer the focal point of the eyes of god and all those watching her, she is just BEing, as she is, and she is beautiful.

I like to watch a man, tired from a day’s work, talking on his cell phone, exaggerating his arm movements.  I know the story he is trying to tell, and I’m certain that the person on the other end of the phone, could they see him, would understand as well. 

I like to watch two teenage boys scream along with Neil Diamond–not making fun of the song, but laughing because they know the words.

I like to watch the joggers, the coffee drinkers, the worry-worts, the suits, the ties, the homeless cart-pushing men, and the children.  I like to see people just doing what they do best…

You can tell when they’re doing something different from this.  You can see it in how they hold themselves.

I like it when they let go.

No Comments »

No comments yet.

RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URL

Leave a comment