I experienced a few thought-provoking incidents recently. watching a man talk loudly to himself while walking through the interchange and getting knocked real hard by a jogger.
While waiting for a bus with my friend a couple of days ago, we saw this man in his late twenties waking through Tampines Interchange talking to himself. His speech was full of crescendos and decrescendos. He wore a pair of earphones, perhaps to momentarily confuse people that he was using a hands-free set. This being the second time i've seen him, I silently observed the reactions of the people around him. A few were amused by his behaviour while other unfortunate persons were momentarily frightened by his loudness.
A day later, I went walking with my friend to Safra. It was while crossing the road that I got knocked sideways by a jogger seemingly oblivious to us. He actually jogged in a small circle before us before jogging to my right and then 'pushed' his way through, knocking my shoulder. I have no idea if it was intentional since he had a pair of earphones on but surely he could see me and move away a bit.
One might call him rude, ungracious, uncivilised, ill-mannered. I'll call him a man lost in his own world.
It dawned on me as I reflected on these two incidents. These two people were living in a world of their own. The man (75% possibility that he's mentally-ill) talked out loud to himself (or to an imaginery friend) without acknowledging the people's mixed reactions around him at all. He looked forward and continued talking. nothing bothered him. So was the other man. Both were lost in their own world, deep in concentration and having a purpose in mind.
In their world of selfish-ness, it was perfect. To them. No one else mattered. No-thing else mattered. Their world was but them.
In the lives of many people, rushing to meet deadlines and trying to find the balance between work, school and our social life zaps away our strength. More often that not it is the process of acquiring the balance that uses up most of the time than the balance itself.
Have the world degraded to such a point that only in the worlds that revolve around us will the balance be found? can you envision a world without pollution? I cannot.
But can the world that i live in be without pollution? Yes i can. Cause its mind over matter. Dont wish for a perfect world or a perfect life. Dont think your life sucks. Cause you create your own life. selfish or self-less. perfect or perfectly imperfect. forcefully imbalanced or fearfully balanced.
the choice is yours.
