Why is it that some people just
don’t seem to belong to the same race? I am not talking about unconventional or
unique people, but those that just seem to “not get it” in one way or another.
There are two types, based on my research:
1)
Waiting for the invite: Some people are
harmless, and friendly enough, they just seem like they need a kind soul to
just say, “come, be one of us”. These are the people that walk on the boardwalk
in summer wearing UGGS, work shoes and dress shirts with cuff links. These misguided people use full service gas even though they are not
rich and fully able, they jus cant figure it out. They still read physical
encyclopedias and plant tulip bulbs with
a spatula. Once embraced by the collective soul of humanity , they too
will have the common knowledge that we all take for granted.
2) Not yet evolved: These are the people that may
or may not have technical and aesthetic knowledge, but do not value cooperation, civility and respect. These are the people that show up 30 minutes late for
the only Barbara Streisand concert in a generation, and spend it consuming 1000 calories of soda,
popcorn and box wine. This primordial group runs the spectrum from those that
talk loudly on their cell phones about
stock investments and social diseases to those that would participate in a hit and run accident.
I see dead people when I bike: Biking the other day, I reached a point where
I was riding along the Bethpage parkway for a short while, and I was reminded
of Robert Pirsig’s recollections in Zen and the Art of Motorcycle
Maintenance. As he rode across country on
his motorcycle, he looked at the faces of people driving to work in the
morning, and they looked so angry, desperate, tired and hopeless, that he
thought they looked like dead people. Is this how some people approach work
each day, or each day in general? The answer sadly is yes. What can you do to
help, you ask? Remember that each day, in the words of Don Juan, “is nothing but
controlled folly”. Yes we may be doing a very serious job, and people are
counting on us, banking on us. But we are most productive when we are relaxed,
and humor and insightful thought is relaxing. So please do make that joke,
reference the high and lofty, take a moment to be kind and complimentary, and
people will appreciate it. And success will seek you out. And you will make the
office busybody very nervous.
The Season of Death: Yes
you are correct, this is the uplifting section. Although the weather is
warm, the growing season is mostly past, so the tomatoes are gone, and the
basil and parsley are slowly waning. The parsley has long stalks and flowers,
yet the end is near. I look at these herbs that have served us well, and there
is a feeling of nostalgia. That hot summer day seems like only yesterday (which
was 70 degrees by the way), and within weeks we will be freezing. And before we know it, the ground will be covered with snow. The days are darker, seemingly shorter, yet the sun and night
sky are crisper and clearer. We are changing, adapting, growing….wiser,
stronger, closer…How many shopping days ‘till Christmas?
Peace All
