So today I spent most of my day driving around on public transportation and the campus. It is amazing how much you realize that human contact is over rated. I enjoy good conversation, don't get me wrong, but I think conversation for the sake of filling time is annoying. I can understand people being proud of who they are and where they are from, but what compels a woman to share her child's accomplishments with a stranger on the bus.
I have noticed however that people make good use of modern technology. You don't even have to be that savvy to escape the world around you. Lets say you are to broke to buy an MP3 player, or so out of touch you still have trouble loading a tape in your Walkman. You can still have peace that comes with it. Its amazing how people ignore you with little bits of plastic in your ears.
Like I said its not that I don't like people, well okay I don't like people, but I am not a recluse. I just think people as a whole usually have nothing to offer in a conversation. People, or small groups of persons are okay. I think the value of a conversation though is directly proportionate to the amount of people in the direct area. It is further degraded by the level of familiarity of people in relation to one another.
For example, you are have a conversation with a life long friend in a boat while fishing. You both are probably enjoying the conversation, and maybe even getting something out of it. Now lets think about a conversation with a lady that smells like three kinds of cheese, on a bus ride, with complete and total strangers in every seat, and its about a strange rash her babies daddy gave here on her genitals.
It seems that people feel they can share their deepest personal stuff with absolute strangers. They also assume that people are obligated to care. Why is that? Why do people feel that way? Why can't people just speak when they need to, and to the people that actually might care?
I have often found that people who either don't like or aren't comfortable with themselves cannot spend time in their own head. It's big and scary in there, filled with noise and... *thoughts*
ReplyDeleteMy sister often remarks to me in a moment of quiet that always sparks amusement, "You know, I'm really glad that we can sit here and just be. You know, don't have to fill the silence with bullshit. Noise for the sake of noise." Then one of us points out that she broke the silence to say that and we giggle.
I can't do that with everyone. Some people make me uncomfortable enough that I need to get the jitters out. Most people just really like to chatter at me.