Pink elephants all around us.
In the room. On the streets. At the workplaces. Especially at the workplaces. And at social situations. More so in social situations.
I was once attending the birthday party of the son of a cousin of mine. Being of a reserved nature, I do not like to attend many social functions where there are expected to be strangers. I had an inkling of how the night would progress before we reached my cousin’s place. And that’s how it progressed. Present were parents of kid friends of my nephew, who had, against their wishes, to come to the party for the sake of their kids; getting very visibly bored, trying to avoid each other’s uncomfortable gazes; which, when caught, had to be followed up by an artificial smile; each of them waiting eagerly for the party to get over, so that they could escape the uneasiness they found themselves in and stage an escape.
But that’s not the saddest part. The saddest thing is, everyone else knew that everyone else is feeling this way, and yet consciously decide not to acknowledge it. This is what perplexes me the most.
Why; when we all know how we all are feeling, and why we are feeling that way; can’t we acknowledge and talk about it openly? Why, when the host asks us if we’re enjoying the party; knowing very well that we aren’t; can we not, instead of responding with a polite smile and a fake ‘yes’, say, “I’m sorry, but I am not. What’s there to enjoy in sitting with a bunch of other similarly boring and dull adults who are as disinterested in striking a conversation with me as I am with them?”
Why can’t grown ups be like kids; play with each other, laugh even with, and at, strangers? We have a lot to learn from our children And to think, we think we need to teach them. Teach them what? To grow up to be as dull and boring as ourselves? But, more on that in a later post (Why I consider formal education to be a waste of time).
Why do adults have to engage in fakery, artificial laughter, artificial small talk and asking questions like ‘How are you’ that they are nor interested in listening the answer to? Why can’t they be straight-up with one another?
We lead such fake, artificial lives with plastic smiles and dull eyes. Trudging through the business of life. Uninterested, unenthusiastic.
Being dead while still alive.
