This is more of a revelation post than a rant post. Although apologies if I'm not able to hold myself back. In this post, we are gonna discuss society. Yeah, the people that surround you. To you, that's society. To them, you are a part of their society.
Ever been told that you are special snowflake? We all were. So the answer is, no you're not.
So basically, I've started to classify people into three categories. Call me a stuck-up judgmental idiot but I don't really see a way around this issue without getting in harms way. Drastic situations call for drastic measures.
Humans - These are the people you can freely interact with. Your friends. You can have a non-egoistic argument with them and come to solid conclusions. Swear at each other without offending the other. You don't have to tactfully sugarcoat your point to get it through. These are your true friends and these are the people your mind truly see as humans.
How do we make friends? Some of us are socially awkward. Were we born that way? Hell no. We all had friends in kindergarten. We are born as social creatures. It's the interactions with society and the failures, obstacles and pressure we face over time that makes us socially awkward. Rather, I should use the more appropriate phrase, lose faith in society. Some of the smartest people in the history of mankind were known to be solitary, with a small circle of friends. That's right; SMALL CIRCLE OF FRIENDS.
Friends are people who share the same issues, situations, experiences or places as you. In short, to be naturally friends with someone, you need to have stuff in common. But that's not enough for your brain to treat them as humans. They need to see the world, the same way as you do. Of course, you won't have the exact same image in mind but as long as there is a common objective, you'll end up with allies in completely unexpected places. Your brain thinks of them as equals.
Animals - You know that acquaintance who you nod and smile to, when you walk by. We don't particularly enjoy it but sometimes you have to talk to them. This 'chore' is not as easy as talking to your friends. You need to be diplomatic in structuring your point to get it through. You can deem them as allies but not really friends. You can't really share yourself with them like you can with humans. They are the kind of people with whom you need small talk to be comfortable with. Here's a quote from Pulp Fiction to show you what I mean,
Mia:
Don't you hate that?
Vincent:
What?
Mia:
Uncomfortable silences. Why do we feel it's necessary to yak about bullshit in order to be comfortable?
Vincent:
I don't know. That's a good question.
Mia:
That's when you know you've found somebody special. When you can just
shut the fuck up for a minute and comfortably enjoy the silence.
That's the difference between a human and an animal. Most professional/formal relationships are of this nature. The animalistic nature. The 'I will not bite you if you do not bite me' kind of relationships. Let's admit it, we don't really like to deal with animals unless we have no other choice. You might occasionally indulge in small talk but you know it's not going beyond that. The most that can happen is you discover a common interest or a side of them. Not that it's impossible but it's just difficult for them to be your friends.
The reason why I call this group as animals is because they are animate. They move, talk and (are supposed to) think. However, our interaction with them is similar to the way we interact with animals. We pat their heads, with words. We try to pull the horse to the water, with words. We rub their bellies, with words. We experiment and see if our cat likes shiny objects or round objects more; all of this, with words.
You can never consider them as equals (unless you figure out something about them that changes their image in your head to a human). They will forever be the most
obvious people and to them, you end up becoming some mysterious
being from the legends.
Trees - When was the last time you smiled or waved to a tree? That's exactly what these people are to your brain. Ever had the feeling of being surrounded by people yet lonely without contact? Chances are you were surrounded by trees. Being surrounded by trees is similar to living in the mountains. You are surrounded by trees but there's nothing more to it; you will have people everywhere but you can't really interact with them. If you have lived for a really long time in a forest, even the sight of an animal can seem like a rare opportunity.
In a forest, you might as well talk to animals. They don't understand you and you don't understand them but hey! It's any day better than talking to a tree!
There ARE times when you have to talk to a tree. Like when you are buying something at the departmental store or taking a cab. Here our tree becomes an animal because you interact with them. You don't interact with them because you WANT to. You interact with them because you NEED something. Unlike animals, you don't really consider them as someone you can interact with but if you do, it's because you NEED something. In Indonesia, that guy working at KFC couldn't speak English but we still managed to communicate my meal and their price by pointing and using a calculator. So simply put, you can promote a tree to an animal.
To summarize all that, I would like to conclude, humans are the people closest to you, animals are the ones you interact with but they are still far from you and trees are the ones who exist but we don't really acknowledge their presence. Your mind can promote a Tree to an Animal via NEED. Your mind can also promote an Animal to Human via TRUST / SIMILARITIES. First impressions are important because that's when you deem a person as a Tree, an Animal or a Human.
With the nomenclature complete, let's get to the point I want to discuss.
The more humans and less trees you have in your life, the more popular you feel. Every person is important and every person has something to say, something to stand up for. There are a few animals but that's fine, we have more humans and barely any trees. That's the beach. You can see very far, very clear. Humans, even in the distance, are very prominent. You can see the occasional animals but very few trees.
This is the exact opposite of feeling lonely. In a state of loneliness it feels as if you are surrounded by trees and a few animals; almost like living in the mountains. You prefer company of these sad animals because talking to animals is better than talking to trees. Deeps inside you know you need human interaction but that's not happening; not here in the mountains.
When you are in the mountains, no one really watches you, except trees and the occasional animals. So you don't really care how you look or what you do. Not like the trees can make a difference to you. The animals can pester you but you can fend them off. This causes a sense of self-centered-ness. There's no human on this mountain except you. You let your hair grow. Stop looking at the mirror. Interact with animals. Even talk to trees because you need to. Times like these you wonder, if a human were to see you in this state... they would probably think of you as an animal.
At the same time, the mountain blinds you. There are so many trees, it's hard to see other humans. Just like you, they prefer to hide away and the cycle of loneliness continues. Even if they see each other, all they see is an animal starring at them. Self growth isn't required since there's no human to see/comprehend it. Helping the mountain become a better place isn't required because we are searching for the beach. If we wanna be at the beach, why even bother fixing a mountain (that can't even be fixed, to begin with)? You start treating your mind, body and surrounding like garbage. This is depression.
On the beach, when you are surrounded by humans, you want to be a better human because you see humans and they see you. You actively try to be a better person, thereby making the beach a better place. You might even see some animals as humans because that's what they seem like on the beach. You don't mind cleaning the beach because you are happy being surrounded by more humans than animals or trees. Every person has a happy place where they belong, where they are with people who are more like them. Where they can just be themselves, where trees don't blind and animals don't attack them.
So here's a question for you, are you living on a mountain too or do you see yourself on a beach?
