Sparked from a conversation I had yesterday, I was thinking about how we as conscious beings have this innate need to explain things. Like when you people watch. People watching is such a interesting thing to do, and I think it mainly stems from this need to explain. For instance, if you see a girl with a guy, you automatically try to discover a reason why they are together. Brother and sister? Friends? Partners?
I was driving yesterday when this phenomenon came over me. I was stopped at a red light, and I found myself staring through my review mirror at the woman in the car behind me. She had this sort of frustrated look on her face, as if the light wasn't changing fast enough. But then her face would soften for a while, as she glanced around at her surroundings, but would harden again when her gaze crept back up to the light. The rapid change in her face was the most interesting part, coupled with the fact that this cycle of change repeated several times during the course of the red light. I thought: "She must have anger management issues. I bet she needs to keep diverting her focus away from the light when she's driving, or she'll go mad or something. She seems like she's pretty high strung."
This is the most innocent form of this explanation the mind automatically does. It's kind of like a first impression. This can be extended into trying to read people that you already know. Or trying to explain why repeated events occur; like why does a squirrel always jump in front of you when you turn a specific corner in your walk to work every day.
I begin to wonder how this "need to explain" extends into life. Or choices. Or religion. I heard a story the other day about a man who kept seeing the number 243 everywhere he went; once he even saw it written in the dust on the back of a transport truck. He wondered what this meant, and eventually made the connection that this number was a reminder from God that He was in control. Is this good? Has this guy gone beyond the boundaries of how far we should take our "need to explain?" Is there a boundary?
Like most things in life, I believe there is a balance here. You could drive yourself psycho trying to analyze and correlate everything you see. I once was like this in a way. I saw the "meaning" in everything. When this outlook failed me, I buried my "need to explain" deep down, so that it wouldn't hurt me again. But I'm realizing that maybe that's not such a good thing. Reaching equilibrium soon, hopefully not too cynically.
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3 comments:
Hey Bro,
That is really a good entry and thought provoking. I totally think you need a balance because otherwise, as you said you do go psycho, and think that everything that happens in life has to have a reason or meaning or explanation, and sometimes reading too much into things can really be harmful and also can hurt other people too. I think it is also connected to first impressions about people. They do something, and right away you think about a reason why they do that; "Oh she's a girly girl because she giggles at boys," or you catagorize a person, in turn giving them a reason for why they act a certian way. Anyways, thanks for the entry. It was great. Suzannne
Hottie spotting, another level of people watching. Definately requires a great amount of energy, and so sleeping through church is necessary if one is to watch to the fullest.
i want to write something serious here because i really like what you wrote. but serious is just, well.... i don't know. i like kelton's comment (no offense to sue).
what i find most interesting about the whole thing is that people seem to believe when they are in their cars they are invisible. that fact is clearly demonstrated in the verousity with which people pick their noses while waiting for a stop light. maybe that's the reason that woman you saw was so angry. maybe she was trying to break the nose picking habit and was having a bit of trouble holding back...just a thought. (jeff)
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