Social experiment

Today I accidentally was part of an interesting social experiment.  This week has been very emotionally challenging and exhausting at work.  Last night I decided that I needed to do something different today to try to have a better day.  So, I wore Christmas antlers all day.  You know the kind that are attached to a headband.

I know most of the people at work, so they generally just laughed at me.  Ahhhh, mission accomplished.  Then, I had to run an errand at the mall at lunch time.  So, the downtown mall is usually pretty busy at lunch, and because it is less than 2 weeks until Christmas it was pretty crazy.  It was interesting to observe peoples reaction.

Some looked and laughed.  Some smiled.  Others looked and looked away.  Seemingly very uncomfortable and not wanting to engage.  It was this reaction that got me thinking.  I was wearing the antlers so obviously I was in on the joke.  So why did people turn away?  Maybe why isn't really what I want to discuss.

It really made me think about why people get to a stage of lonely or depressed in our world.  There I was doing something funny and people didn't want to have any part of it.  Is our society too serious?  Is living in a city that is, on average, all about money making people this way?  Are we too busy to take time to be in the present moment?  Focused on getting to the next and the next and the next?  I don't know.  It is making me think about how I am in the world though.

I hope that I can learn to be in the moment.  To see the here and now.  This is hard for me today, but especially important.  Right at this moment life is good.  I'm sitting in a comfortable arm chair.  My fire place is on.  And I am writing, something I love to do.  But, there is a part of my mind that is still at work, still angry about some of what happened this week.  Still anxious about what tomorrow will bring.  I think this is normal, but it does rob me of the now.