I have a confession. I'M BORING. I go to work Monday through Friday. I
sit at a desk. Then I go home. I have kids and dogs. When I’m at work I
daydream about boring things like naps. My favorite way to spend an evening is
in front of my wood burning stove, maybe with a dog on me, next to my fiancé. Eating.
He is also boring. We are monogamous. I don’t even drink.
Hell, I don’t even eat bacon.
I’m boring and that’s why people like me.
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We live in a world that has become so impersonal and so segregated from
the community, that people all feel crazy. They feel alone. They feel lost. And
they feel hopelessly “different”. Human beings were meant to be communal
animals. Being with others is an integral aspect of our ability to be alone. We
derive our consciousness of self through the reflections of others. We learn “self”
reflection by acknowledging our likenesses with others. From viewing “without”
we gain insight to “within”. And this ability to self reflect, well, “sapience”,
“to know”, is a vital part of being a “homo sapien”.
I turn on the TV at home and see a show about people who write parking tickets. We make dinner with Honey Boo Boo’s family. We go tuna fishing with a group of strange guys. Why? Are these lives really more interesting than our own? Why do we care about things that aren’t that interesting? Why do we care about people like ourselves?
Simply, because, we can relate.
We live in a world that moves fast. We have the ability to access so much knowledge of so many interesting things. Most of us possess this ability in the palm of our hands. We, for the first time in history, are able to know how NOT interesting we all are. Most of us live simple lives. So, when we see a glimmer of recognition in the mediocrity of someone else’s life, we cling to it. We cling to it and breathe a sigh of relief that we aren’t missing out on a life better lived.
And the more we get to know each other, the more we delve past the surface and begin to explore and reflect, we realize; despite the similarities of our mediocre lives, it is our individual experiences and our ability to share them, that makes us uniquely interesting… and human.
I turn on the TV at home and see a show about people who write parking tickets. We make dinner with Honey Boo Boo’s family. We go tuna fishing with a group of strange guys. Why? Are these lives really more interesting than our own? Why do we care about things that aren’t that interesting? Why do we care about people like ourselves?
Simply, because, we can relate.
We live in a world that moves fast. We have the ability to access so much knowledge of so many interesting things. Most of us possess this ability in the palm of our hands. We, for the first time in history, are able to know how NOT interesting we all are. Most of us live simple lives. So, when we see a glimmer of recognition in the mediocrity of someone else’s life, we cling to it. We cling to it and breathe a sigh of relief that we aren’t missing out on a life better lived.
And the more we get to know each other, the more we delve past the surface and begin to explore and reflect, we realize; despite the similarities of our mediocre lives, it is our individual experiences and our ability to share them, that makes us uniquely interesting… and human.
***Dedicated to Mary, who says I'm not interesting.
