March 31, 2012
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Seeing People in a Different Light
I would have to say that my transition into an almost full-blooded cynic has been a pleasant one. I legitimately enjoy the feeling of knowing that the vast majority of people that I come across on a daily basis are either incredibly stupid, or are otherwise just not fully conscious of the world around them. This is in stark contrast to my philanthropic wife who looks for any hint of good that she can find in a person (probably why she's still with me), but nine times out of ten, I just don't see it. I feel like Lot living in a world of Gomorrah and can't even find five good men.
The most redeeming aspect, though, of this train of thought, is that the people that I DO come across whom I find to be respectable for some reason or another, are all the more refreshing to interact with. I am a big fan of not desensitizing myself to the point of numbness created by enjoying "every little detail" of life and the people in it, because when I do see the bright spots, I feel that it makes them all the brighter.
I find this comparable to making a pencil sketch (my absolute favorite form of art) that includes some form of light source, be it a bulb, or candle, or a star. With a pencil and paper, it is literally impossible to DRAW light. All you can do is NOT draw it. Focus on the light as the brightest item on the page, thus making it effectively blank, and then grey-scale all of your other objects based on this contrast.
If I want to truly see the best of what people have to offer, I have to make them the brightest part of my "drawing" and grey-scale everybody else back accordingly. I feel like this helps me look at the bigger picture more accurately. I, of course, don't mean that in any way as a racial metaphor. Mind you, there are lots of good people in the world, but just as drawing often has more than one light source; there are just so many more less redeeming people in my eyes, and these are the people that fill in the rest of my picture of society and the world. I feel like if I tried to be less than cynical, I would just be looking at a blank canvas.
I realize that this is not the most Christian way of viewing other people, but we all have our sins. Mine just so happens to be being a bad person.
Until next time, good luck with life.
P.S. Did I use the semicolon correctly?
Comments (23)
Welcome back, man. I'm sleepy but I'll read this in more detail tomorrow.
thanks, it's good to be back
been a couple years, lol
I love it. I'm often quite cynical, but I'm at a point in my life where I embrace it. And its very true...when you find those people who are just so awesome...they are REALLY awesome because they "shine so brightly" compared to everyone else.
I have never seen a semicolon used like that before. They usual connect two complete sentences that need each other to finish the subject. But you already seem to do that with commas. But I basically suck at English grammar so never listen to me on that subject.
@trunthepaige - yeah, I feel like I used it to connect two compound sentences, which may not be right... but I did feel like they needed each other... but maybe I'm crazy. Some things about grammar I really understand very well, but semicolons have never been one of them.
There is good reason to be cynical
I see you are concerned with good grammar which indicates you have a conscience. The semicolon";" is used to connect independent clauses and to indicate a closer relationship between the clauses than a period does, so says the dictionary. It is subtle but good to know still. And yes a lot of people appear stupid but luckily there is such a thing as redemption, so there is hope.
You post a xanga sidebar ad, so you must still have hope that you will meet worthwhile people in your life. May it be so for you!
@ed408 - amen, sir
I really enjoyed reading this. Working in the profession that I do, you'd think I'd have a lot more intellectual conversations with my fellow cohorts, oddly, (or maybe not so oddly now-a-days) the most intellectual and thought-provoking conversations I have are with my 4th grade students. Cynicism isn't necessarily a bad thing, in my opinion, for, as you stated, it can help you see the "brightness" even brighter when you do observe it. I too, have been gone from xanga for awhile, and reading my older posts (from 8 years ago), I am not even close to that person anymore, quite frankly, those posts are embarrassing and I'm tempted to delete them, albeit I believe they show my growth. I will definitely be reading more, as you post. Thanks for getting the gears in my brain moving.
Yes, you did.
Dear Walter (Time was, I used to be able to remember the given "given names" of everyone who visited my blog, but I'm experiencing the memory loss associated with aging more and more, and can't trust my "elephantine memory" that much anymore. Forgive me if I've forgotten your name.),
Thank you for your recent visit to and comment on my most recent blog entry. Your comment launched me on a quest to sample some of the many "News and Notes" columns I have written over the years. Must have spent two hours last night traveling in my Xanga time machine. I always like to note that my blog "style" has pretty much stayed the same since I signed on to the service in 2004.
I really enjoyed reading this. Too bad when writing articles in this totally unforgiving PC world one feels a need to pen something like: "I, of course, don't mean that in any way as a racial metaphor." I, for one, didn't even think of this, and the line really doesn't need to be in the article, but I understand it's inclusion.
I read this morning where Gov.Brewer of Arizona wants to sign a bill into law in her state which makes it a criminal act, punishable for up to 6 months in jail, for "trolling" or making "obscene or rude" comments on the internet. Besides being an affront to 1st amendment "free speech" rights, I thought that with probably 1/3 of the Xangans who are left on this network certified "trolls" if we all lived in Arizona, Xanga would lose this 1/3 of it's members!
I'm at work, so really shouldn't even "be here", but wanted to say glad you're back. Hope I have your name right. And I recommended this article. Very clever metaphors. (Also, pencil sketching was my chief artistic expression years ago, and I'm empathetic to what you're saying from an artistic standpoint.
Michael F. Nyiri, poet, philosopher, fool
There is something one can learn from everyone or anyone, that's what i think.
@baldmike2004 - Your memory did not fail you, sir.
Yeah... I didn't really THINK that particular line needed to be included... but I decided to throw it in for good measure... one can never be too careful these days.
But yes, I found your entry to be a very clever way of kind of taking a snapshot of where you are right now, and having multiple posts like that is a very good way to see where you have come in a concise and organized manner.
I never noticed any of those style of entries on your blog in the past, but that could be MY memory failing... or just my amazing ability to not pay attention to things very well.
I have always enjoyed the consistency and organization of your media network (not just on xanga) and find it to be very clever.
So trunthepaige tried to correct your grammar?!?!? LOL!!!! Of course, in doing so, she made a pretty stupid mistake herself, which isn't surprising at all. Quote: "They usual connect two complete sentences that need each other to finish the subject."
It should say "They USUALLY connect..."
*FACEPALM*
Sorry, but I couldn't help pointing out the obvious hilarity.
@In_Reason_I_Trust - you and Paige good friends, I take it?
Good to see you back! Your wife sounds like my mom,I try to be like them but I am not a natural,I do have to work on it.
@RockOfEadie - Oh, yeah. I have a few entries in which I went on and on about how much I like her.
Go HERE to feel the love.
You want me to go back and look for one semicolon in all that? I'm sure you sued it just fine because stood out to me. ;P
I would say your wife also uses the bright spot like you do, but she limits each canvas to one person each. Then all the canvases put together create the big picture.
The people you see as bright spots she might see as nearly blank canvases.
This post is awesome! Sorry, just finished my homework and my brain and words are hiding now : )
@storyslut - lol, yeah, it's good to be back. Definitely not the same around here as it used to be, but it's still fun, and there's still much to learn.
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