The Disassociation of Care.

Hello Darlings.

Mother has had a recent epiphany. Yes Sweetie, another one. I am about to share it with all of you all. I appreciate your reading it. I wonder if you will agree. I think you will at least through some of it. What I really hope is that you will think about it from time to time and join me in my little plan ( sounds sinister, I know. Totally isn’t.)
I am trying to come up with a plan so that you and I can maybe make a positive effect on this planet, or at least our local grocery store. If you know about the hundredth monkey thing….I guess I’m hoping some other apes will start washing their sweet potatoes, if I start washing mine.

The Epiphany:

I was at the grocery the other day and I noticed several times people who seemed to be talking to themselves. Of course, they were on their phone with a bluetooth thing in their ear. I realize that. “Is she crazy or on the phone?”, has been a game for me for the last several years, but there is a clear difference these days. These days people are in full out loud conversations. In fact, as I headed down the soup isle, a woman turned into the isle with all of her teeth shining like the grill of a new Chrysler. She was guffawing like she was in a loud tavern, or like a hyena with no filter. The energy of it was startling. She looked like she was clearly and diagnosably insane. Really, unsettling so. I stopped looking at the soup and stared.
I was looking right at her, I am sure with some kind of weird look. She looked back, right into my eyes and instead of doing what I thought she would do (which is acknowledge me with a wink or nod or wave or something to signal that she is okay and just on the phone), she looked right in my eyes and continued on at top volume as if no one was there.
Amazing.

This is not my first experience with this kind of self involved containment system. It is not uncommon for people to act as if they are by themselves in an isolation booth when they are actually in a room full of people. They don’t seem to be effected by those they are effecting. I also notice that many others tend to just ignore them, enabling those people to believe that they are actually alone…..in the crowd of people.

So, my epiphany is this : People just don’t care if you think they’re crazy anymore. They don’t. No one person has one shit to give in the situation of anyone questioning who or what they are in public. It is irrelevant if they connect to you, because they are previously connected to some electronic device that allows them to connect with anyone they want to connect with, including Cher on Twitter. I mean….who really wants to look and connect to some poor schlump who is meandering down the soup isle when you can tweet the hell out of Cher instead? I can’t give you an answer.

But, I gotta tell you. You need to connect.

I started this thing a few weeks ago. When I go to the store, or when I am walking out it public I will make it a point to make eye contact with everyone I come upon. When I started it, every time I did it, I would say in my head ” One for humanity!” That little cheer kind of bolstered my confidence and raised my energy to be able to do this little task readily and happily. I realized that I had stopped connecting some time ago, and it took a little practice and a locker room speech to get me back in the game. I’m good now and I actually enjoy meeting eyes with other people. Not everyone looks back, but some people do, and they seem happy to see me too. I think…” aha…you are awake. Hooray for being awake!”

I believe that we are all connected. I believe that the connection is important. So, whether it’s the soccer mom in line with me at Whole Foods, or the grocery bagger dude at Publix, I make eye contact and smile, or say hello. People might think that I’m weird. Hell, they might even think that I am crazy…but I don’t care.
I mean, that’s in style these days, isn’t it?
I dig a trend, y’all.

Make contact. I’ll be looking out for you 😉
Smooch Out!
http://www.susanrushing.com