"Because boys are already raised in a patriarchs fashion. They feel like they have already ascended to the top of the ladder, and are in fact kings of their domain. With all of this accomplishment, there is only one thing left to have--to be able to read the minds of his minions and know them in a way no one else can. They also have trouble reading others in a typical social way, so the easiest solution is being able to read their minds with ease. And women--they want to fly because...well you know. They've been held back, told they weren't as good and expected to stay under the rule of man. Flying is the ultimate freedom."
While I immediately pulled out the same answer G did to this seemingly deep question, I find it archaic. I believe that things are changing for us culturally. We're in the middle of a social revolution--how ever slow it might be. Ladies are finding ways to fly despite the inherent challenge; but because my experience is subjective I'm not sure about men just yet. On the one hand you still have the Gaston from Beauty and The Beast persona. The "and don't I deserve the best" assertion. I of course know many boys that would say they would rather have the ability to fly above all other powers. Is this just a small few, or is it an evolving group that realizes the mediocrity of individual life, and understands that one isn't simply born 'on top' because he is male? I think the men that say flying instead of reading minds reveal a confidence and purity of soul that the 'mind reader' could never possess. Just things to think about.
Fast Forward 2 days. Chilling with M in a park by the lake. This is what we all do. Chill by the lake. It's almost cleansing to toke and then just sit by the water. We talked about the importance of spending an ample amount of time with yourself alone. She referenced Thoreau's views on Solitude from Walden
"I find it wholesome to be alone the greater part of the
time. To be in company, even with the best, is soon wearisome and
dissipating. I love to be alone. I never found the companion that was so
companionable as solitude. We are for the most part more lonely when we go
abroad among men than when we stay in our chambers.""We meet at the post-office, and at the sociable, and about the fireside every night; we live thick and are in each other's way, and stumble over one another, and I think that we thus lose some respect for one another. Certainly less frequency would suffice for all important and hearty communication."
Cue mental breakthrough. I love to be alone when I need it. Sometimes I see movies alone, I sit by the lake alone, I shop alone, I study alone most of the time; more recently, I blaze alone. Often times when I've had a little too much to drink, I'm known to leave the group without word and go off and sit alone. I realize now the downfall of last semester could be accredited to self. I had no where to go to be alone. After discussing all of this, I told M that this is the reason the 4 girls are so close. We understand the need to be alone and away from people and each other sometimes.
I'll leave with one more question I've been thinking about.
Do we spend so much time and effort trying to create romantic and ideal situations that we never really experience those things? We know what the media considers to be idealistic and romantic, (a beach vacation, first kiss, flowers and dinner) but are those things a sure guarantee that we will be happy if we experience them? What if we just let go and stopped trying to create that perfect fairy tale? Would be be unfathomably happier?
1 comment:
So much to comment on!
Foremost, I'd like to fly, invisibility is a close second.
"It's almost cleansing to toke and then just sit by the water."-an undertaking of humans for tens of thousands of years!
"I love to be alone when I need it. Sometimes I see movies alone, I sit by the lake alone, I shop alone, I study alone most of the time; more recently, I blaze alone. Often times when I've had a little too much to drink, I'm known to leave the group without word and go off and sit alone."- I relish being alone. What an advantage it is to be totally comfortable with one's self. So many people don't have that, existing for validation from others good, bad, or indifferent. A lot of folks are very afraid of being alone. I've always felt I was my own best company.
"Do we spend so much time and effort trying to create romantic and ideal situations that we never really experience those things? We know what the media considers to be idealistic and romantic, (a beach vacation, first kiss, flowers and dinner) but are those things a sure guarantee that we will be happy if we experience them? What if we just let go and stopped trying to create that perfect fairy tale? Would be be unfathomably happier?"-It's human nature to spend so much energy planning for a moment that can't live up to the build up, or when the moment comes, we're too busy planning our next move to fully experience it. There is so much to be said for being fully present in the moment. Time is an illusion. Time isn't linear, human experience is. The past is a concept that we've all loosely agreed to believe in. The future is a concept based on the expectation of additional experience. The only, "real" time is right now. We should be obsessed with making this the richest, right now possible, and really be fully present for it. Yesterday and tomorrow will take care of themselves.
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