In no way do I intend on writing a post with the usual flavours I have in my ‘publication’ cabinet. I say that sounding like a professional, but to be honest, I am not. I just need to write this piece with a pure mind, and jot down some thoughts. No editorial efforts, no backspacing, no stopping… just writing what comes from the “upper story”. I spoke to Tristan this morning, discussing the multitudes of either random or downright silly(read: stupid) posts one sometimes make, and It got me thinking about several things. I also just got back from a raw bush wack camping weekend next to the Breederiver, so my mind is fresh, and my spelling should be good enough (it usually isn’t, as a result of haste).
People differ, thankfully and cursefully, in many ways. I tend to get myself entangled in the effluent that doninates our lives everyday. Listening to the news, corruption in the government, racism in the political parties that run out country, the rest of the world turning a blind eye to it all, drivers with no politeness, patience or respect for the safety of other drivers, people who get themselves into bad situation because of their inability to enjoy themselves without alcohol… people who do things that scare or disappoint you; and usually the same people you thought were great people.
Then, when you least expect it, you find a diamond in the rough, a good book with a cover covered in snot. You see a person, you hear him speak, you notice some of his habits and he strikes you as part of this ‘effluent’. He/She’s the kind of character you try to avoid, steer clear. Then, out of the blue something happens, and you are forced to talk to a person, or cross paths, and you learn something about them in that 5 seconds of interaction. You realise how you were quick to judge, and get humbled by your mistake very soon. A sudden thought pattern shoots over your mind, you realise that the best people, the purest, the funniest, the most enjioyable people are the ones you avoid, or get “warning signs” (however false they may be) from. Perhaps these warning signs are part of your upbringing, your old parental prejudice or tendency to just avoid disappointment by avoiding everyone. Whatever they may be, they are a limiting factor in how you perceive your life, which is a tightrope, weaved very loosely.
I think a few years ago, people used to have a deeper level of consideration and respect for each other (and their property), something which is declining fast with the moral decay the world is experiencing. I also think that a few years ago, those same people, said the same thing about people a few years before that, even. It’s natural it seems, for people to get mixed with rubbish, and follow their path down. Just recently my own people seemed to have stooped lower even still, with the latest craze in this country, a very low form of human output, via rap/hiphop combined with a strong and morally corrosive lyrical pattern; an eye opener to what effluent really exists in the world, and how it getting worse. However, we cannot do anything about it.
What do we do? We avoid stepping in the sewerage on our paths perhaps? Or, do we just avoid those paths and choose different routes, safer routes where the good few that remain, concentrate? I prefer the latter. For us to best examine our own ways and live it the way we want (just like the waste of society is living it the way they want), we need to be open and honest. I have a friend or two who prefer to be influenced by the negative of the world, insisting that everything and everyone is a cancer of the planet. Maybe it’s true, maybe it’s not, my point being that those “cancers” are merely _other_ people. You make your life what it is, and where it fails your expectations, you make a move, you migrate, migrate to better communities, better landscapes, better views, cleaner air. Go where people respect your safety and privacy, where you can be a human living your life the way you want, without allowing yourself to be influenced by the rubbish, the pollution or the fears. At some point, you will slip off the tight rope, and then you must be sure that you are over waters that aren’t icy cold, or boiling hot. If you are, back up, jump off the rope, and get on another one. It’s really all a choice, and that’s what make things really interesting, choice, freedom to chose.
I now wish I could be back at the campsite, next to the river where my site neighbours are quiet and respecting, the sounds of nature softly making itself known and the waters rushing past, slow enough to cool a hot summer body off.
