Head space
I just got back from a class about being social. I know that sounds weird. Isn't everyone social? Well, yes, I suppose, but this just cut out all the baloney and internal dialogues and forced you to do it. One of the important pieces of group-work was going to Union Square and talking to random girls on the sidewalk. It reminded me of a conversation that I had with my father a while ago:
“But how do you talk to people?” I asked.
“You just walk up and say 'hi,'” he replied.
“I can't just do that, though.”
But of course, the lesson that I learned today is that it really is that easy. You can.
As I headed home, I became conscious of my walking and my internal energy. There were no thoughts wandering through my head, no stupid ideas bouncing around. Just me and the city. And the people. I became super-aware of the sound-scape around me, the squeals and the rumbles and the clangs. And everyone walking towards me was a person, with an identity, from the purple hair to the t-shirt-under-a-jacket. It was an incredible sensation.
And in a blinding epiphany, it occurred to me why people to out to bars after work. It's not to drink to forget the day. It's to be social, to pull yourself out of your head and be present, in the moment, with people. It's so obvious now, I don't see why I didn't see it before.
I'm still buzzing. I'm still hanging in the present. I need to call Mordy, and do any number of other things. But I'm savoring this. This is true interaction with the world.
I've arrived, world. Take me.
Comments
Hi Avi, sorry this is so late, been busy.
Lucky you, seriously. My social phobia is not only refractory, but worsening the last few years. You have no idea how lucky you are to find it easy to just talk to people...
Posted by: Sean Montgomery | June 7, 2007 2:11 PM