Monday, September 3, 2012

Day 247/366

People don't discuss enough. I'm talking about face-to-face interactions where someone actually gets defensive if they feel that the other is not making sense. We are open minded when it comes to talking via DMs or Facebook inbox messages or emails. But we conveniently choose to ignore the personal touch. We mock people who like writing or receiving letters when one day, not too long ago, it was the only way of communication. There were the carrier pigeons before that and telephones after, of course.

Why do we shy away from fellow humans so much? We can go for a #BeerUp and get drunk with complete strangers. Why not do that and allow them into your homes for say, a poetry reading session? Would you be all right with that if you haven't met any of them? I sometimes go to bookstores and talk to the owners about their love for words. I've done the same with musicians and songwriters. It is just so fascinating to observe facial expressions and body language. You hear the words but you see the person react in a live conversation. And not the kinds over Skype. You dirty talk and sext in the nights. And when it comes to holding a person and falling asleep, you turn your back to them.

What good is any of this serving anyone? I used to be a social butterfly when I was young. Or so I've been told. I don't remember that. I value conversations now but I do feel safer in my virtual skin. It's easier to be that, I agree. But you can't forget the better, more real experiences in life. Like a kiss that is not an emoticon with a <3. Or the look on the face of the person you cook for when they eat that awful batch of cookies. Or just that priceless look on your sister's face when you break the fart bomb in her loo and come back pretending you had nothing to do with it. Life's got a lot to offer. Buy a book at that brilliant smelling bookstore while they still exist. You won't regret it.

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