If...: Chapter 2

What if I could read people's minds?

----------xx----------

Fair warning, I'm sad, I'm upset, I'm pissed, I'm huffy, I'm amused and I'm crying all at once.

Today's idea is totally fueled by my outrage at something that happened.

So...I don't know what people think of me through my writing. I don't know how I'm perceived by those who simply read my thoughts, my opinions and my beliefs. I don't know what mental picture I may have formed in someone's mind about myself.

Now whether I'm saying this to add to the confusion, or because I feel the need to put it out there, I'm not sure. But I want to say this: I'm usually someone who believes that there is always good in people. Life may make them bitter, angry, sour, or whatever other flavor you want to title it. But I think everyone is capable of being good.

And as I'm writing this, I think I'm figuring out why I'm so upset today. I think I had a moment when I realized how utterly foolish and naive that belief is. As much as it breaks my heart, I think I have to come to terms with the fact that not everyone may be intrinsically good.

In the spirit of honesty, the incident that happened was so nominal, that it isn't even worth mentioning. But clearly several emotions were bubbling close to the surface for me if it's causing me to reflect so intensely and affecting me so fundamentally. I think I'm upset today because someone who I thought was good, forced me to come to terms with the possibility that it may not be the case.

----------xx----------

So if I could read people's minds, I'd probably want to opt out of that first thing. Honestly, there are only 2 people in this world who's brains I'd want to get into and know what they were thinking. Apart from that, I may want to know in the moment, but the second I reflect and think of the consequences that may have, I change my mind and decide that I absolutely don't want to know what people are thinking.

I'd rather be oblivious and ignorant to what people think of me, think of my personality or my behaviors. I suppose the only possible time I'd want to know what someone is thinking is if it'll help me to improve on something. or prevent me from doing something inappropriate or disrespectful.

If I were being completely truthful, that has always been a daunting phobia that I've had since I was younger. Part of me wished I knew exactly people were thinking, but another part was terrified of finding some really scary things in people's brains. Now, if I could combine being invisible, ensure that I wasn't the topic of discussion and then know what was going through people's minds as an observer, I think that would make a pretty great show. But any other time, count me out!

So basically, an odd little venting post today. I was so upset, I even swore *hangs head in shame* but here's hoping I'm back to being fit as a fiddle tomorrow.

Thank you for being such great listeners. Y'all rock. <3

Until next week...

Hasta la-buh bye!

-----x-----x-----x-----

PS - A very Happy Birthday to my bestie, Tall Guy. Thank you for being you, and for all you do. I thank my lucky stars that prompted me to shove my phone in your face and ask for your Facebook info 2 years ago. Haven't regretted it once :D here's to celebrating a million more with you :) xoxo

Becoming.

Hello world,

I hope this post finds you well! *cue inside joke*

Any moo. Today's topic just kind of "formed" in my head on the way home tonight. To ensure that I give credit where it is due, I must admit: tonight's post is Mumble-Wumble inspired. But let me share my thought process with y'all...

So we were driving home and listening to all sorts of music, and I really mean all sorts. We were reliving memories of the past, trying to figure out funny words, singing along and trying to free style, it was great. However, it was as he played more songs and hit me with more blasts from the past, that I realized something that applied to everyone.

With Mumble-Wumble in particular, he grew up among so many (culturally) different of people. Ergo, he was exposed to a large variety of music and probably developed such a wide taste n it. Keeping consistent with this idea, I started thinking of how my other friends must have also developed their respective tastes in music growing up. It was pretty fascinating.

That's when this idea began to formulate in my head about how so many little things we do in our early days define and shape who we are now.

As usual, I'm very tired atm to finish this post, I will finish it when I wake in the morning!


Update: Much later... *hangs head in shame*

I think I may have to admit defeat here. I have let this post sit stale for quite some time now, so I think I may have lost the zeal with which I started it, but I'll make an attempt anyway.

So.

The idea was to marvel and how many things we are surrounded with, that shape us to be who we are. Every day, the music we listen to, the movies we watch, the people we interact with, all provide us with thoughts and ideas that our subconscious mind definitely retains, with or without our knowledge.

This amazes me and worries me at the same time. While some things could have a "good" impact on us, other thoughts may harm our thinking more than we may realize. But it is this process of becoming who we are that is fascinating to think of. It doesn't happen over night. It doesn't only happen over the years. It is actually a process that never stops. We change, we evolve and we create and develop ourselves each day we live.

This idea was just a food-for-thought one, I wasn't really going anywhere with it. However, I should probably revisit this at a later time when my brain thinks of more stuff relating to it.

Until then..

Hasta la-buh bye!

The Weekly Process

Hi all,

So today, I think I would like to share some funny behind the scenes information with you guys.

Update @ 3:14 pm (the next day)

I feel like I cheated with last night's post because I literally just put a little something out there, and it counted as not missing a day. I need to start getting better with being on time to write out these posts. Also, considering how ridiculously busy I've been these last few months, I have to give myself mad props for being able to keep up with my writing each week.

Anywho!

A few months ago, I wrote a post called The Struggle is Real!.. or something..

I ran into a friend of mine who I hadn't spoken to in ages a few days ago; turns out, she reads my blog every week! Not only does she read it, but she looks forward to my posts each week! While we were chatting, she asked me a very interesting question. She said, "How do you come up with a topic to write about every week?"

I actually stumbled over my words, because I realized I didn't quite have an answer for her. It's usually a very comical process I go through each week, trying to come up with something to write about. In the back of my mind, I'm always counting down days to Thursday, rather than Friday because my most important task of the week remains to be done on Thursdays.

The closer it gets to Thursday, the more my brain panics and runs in circles. I become over observant, over annoying and over passionate about things hoping to come across an inspiring topic to write about. I ask my friends about strange experiences they might have had. I try to read up on articles, oddities and anything that could be remotely unique, interesting and fun to read at the same time.

Many a times, I just end up sharing my personal thoughts and stories through this blog. However, I must admit: whenever I look at the "audience" this blog reaches every week, my heart fills with joy. There are people out there who are actually reading the madness I write! Provided they are not bots, it absolutely delights me thinking that someone out there might look forward to Thursday as much as I do, in hopes that I can write about something entertaining that would make them laugh.

But in the spirit of honestly, I shouldn't sell myself too short. Truth be told, there is a bit of a process associated with writing a post every week. I am all over the place trying to look for ideas, but my favourite part when I do find one, is to cater my post to tons of audiences. As a writer, I try to view my posts through a few different pairs of eyes in hopes that it will appeal a large audience.

Amongst a million things that this blog has taught me this year, I think this is one of the biggest lessons I've learned. One can always find inspiration, provided they're actually looking for it. I realized that my perspective needs to be broadened and my horizons need to be widened if I am to truly find and appreciate the wonders of the world around me.

Just to describe the accuracy of my week though, check it out...

That's my little spiel for this post. Maybe I'll come back and write some more later.

Until next week, hope everyone has a lovely weekend!

Hasta la-buh bye!

An Ode To: The 'Insignificant' Strangers

Greetings, world!

I hate to admit it, but things have been different since I turned 25 =/...

I think an invisible officer from the corporation called "This is How the World Works" suddenly put this invisible hat on my head that says "Adult", and everybody (except my parents) started treating me like one. I'm really not sure how I feel about this...

So it seems that with added responsibility, comes more contemplation. Today's post is an idea that came to my mind since I started my new job and learning about the people I worked with. In the last couple of months in my new role, I've learned a lot, questioned a lot, and observed a lot. Even though tonight's post is going to be fairly short and different from others I've written, the idea stayed with me because of it's potential magnitude.

What do I mean by The Insignificant Strangers?

Allow me to share my own personal definition and story with you.

I think insignificant strangers are people we encounter that may not necessarily be a big part of our everyday lives. Co-workers, colleagues, bosses, fellow students, friends of friends, regular passersby on streets, and so on. We may not speak with these individuals every day. We don't consider them "close", and we don't share our personal stories with them. However, their we are in their vicinity enough that their actions impact us, whether we realize it or not.

I said that today's post will be different. That was because I am trying to write it from a perspective that isn't my own. I am actually trying to understand this as I go.

A co-worker of mine put this idea in my head. In my new role, I have replaced an individual that worked in that position for several years. Let's call them Bob. Of course, as workplace rumours go, there were tons flying around about why Bob left, the kind of person Bob was, whether Bobwould come back, and so on. And what I found surprising, was that the people who already were working there were quite wary of.. me!

In the time that I worked there and gathered more hearsay about Bob, I found myself thinking that the wariness about Bob was rightfully so. It seemed that people had not been able to have a relationship with Bob in the past. There were clashes in personalities, work ethics, habits, and many other personal and professional aspects. Especially wary were those who worked in close proximity of Bob. When I started, these colleagues within close quarters treated me in a certain way, based on Bob's behaviour, and I had to really differentiate myself to show them that I wasn't Bob.

Soon enough, my co-workers learned that and began to treat me as my own person. They stopped calling me "the new Bob". But it was being treated like Bob that gave me this idea. Unbeknownst to my co-workers and probably even Bob, they had affected each other fairly extensively. Their behaviours, their prejudices, their biases and their instincts were all based on the way they treated each other in the past. But how well did my co-workers and Bob really know each other? My guess would be - not at all! To each other, they were complete strangers who really weren't key characters in one another's lives. Then how did they affect each other so deeply?

I thought it was quite an interesting thought - how many other such "insignificant strangers" do we come across in every day life, who affect us unknowingly and significantly? Do we carry these lessons with us forever? Or do others come along and break these perceptions and prejudices we may have based on one experience we have? I hope that in the time that I'm working here, I break a few negative perceptions and show that not everyone has to be like Bob. I wouldn't want to be judged or compared with someone I didn't know.

But anyway. Grudgingly as it may be, I have to acknowledge these insignificant strangers for the impact they have on our lives. We simply have to be vigilant enough to weed out the prejudice from the actual behaviour. We have to be prepared for completely different personalities as well as absolute replicas. Simply put, we must be able to treat every individual as a separate entity.

That's my thought for the day. See y'all next week!

Hasta la-buh bye!