liberdad = freedom

There are people who hate to be alone. People who feel uncomfortable with their own thoughts. They need to feel connected to some other human being to feel at ease. Im not saying its a 24 hour thing, because short of conjoined twins, no one is ALWAYS around someone. I just mean people who cant go out to public places by themselves, like to the mall or movies or even grocery shopping. I'm not here to judge, I'm just realizing that this is a common thread in people. With all the technology we have we can stay "plugged in" and in contact with people every waking [and not so awake] moment.

And even if people can stand to be alone, there are some who even still cant bear to live without other forms of stimulation. Ipods and all other types of music players are another way people stay occupied. I guess right im saying this because I just want to ask the question, "why are we so afraid to listen to our own thoughts", there is no one correct answer that may apply to the countless masses of people. Could the reason we have to listen to music or other people be that we are afraid of what WE think? Are we scared to miss some major event and be late to tweet/post it on facebook? Is it a comfort thing, something to calm our nerves like a pacifier or security blanket? There is no way to definitively answer but I have my own theory.

I think its a combination of all the things I said and more. I recently found myself at an event where i knew absolutely no one for a good time. I found myself faced with a choice, a crossroads if you will, I could either A) get up, walk around and talk to people or B) sit down and talk to people i already know through text/Blackberry messenger/facebook. Needless to say, i chose B; I made that decision for various reasons but at the crux of my decision was based on the same reason people can go a life time and not know their neighbors, its the reason why everyone stays "plugged in". Technology has allowed us to walk around with an instant comfort zone at our beck and call. We can find just about anyone in a moments notice, and if the usual suspects dont respond, we can find spark up a convo with someone else in our contacts.

Well, there was a point this summer, it started when i was in Panama but lasted for weeks after, that I unplugged myself. I stopped carrying my phone and rarely checked facebook [like maybe a minute a day every 2-3 days....real talk], and email was looked at as needed. It was different at first, but I honestly liked the feeling. That awkward feeling is because we are so used to constantly being inundated with music, and texts, and messages, and advertisements; but you quickly get accustomed to it and enjoy how simple live is sans tech. I spent most of that time in silent introspection going over all types of things in my life. This past summer was a transitional period for me. I set out for it to be one, it just happened. It feels as if it was a series of rising actions, in the storybook of life, events that resulted in the protagonist going a totally different place than you [or he] thought he'd go. I don't really know how i came to think of this tonight. But then again, its not like i know why i do alot of things.

When big decisions are coming up or if you are tired of everything [or maybe just one thing] sometimes "unplugging" everything, except the essentials and even still using those sparingly, may be exactly what you need to get your resolution. Taking time to focus on meditation and introspective analysis is cathartic. You'd be surprised all of the things you get done and how comforting it is to rely on your own faculties. A good week [or 3] of being unplugged will hit the spot and basically give you a mental reboot. Speaking of reboot, its getting late. And i need to take my tail to bed

so until some other time
Peace&love

Julian