I am talking to *YOU* -- Work hard, play hard, no time to meet or socialize with new people. You're a turtle if you do!!

in #life7 years ago (edited)

What does that mean? I work hard. I enjoy life. I don't need to meet or socialize with strangers. Why would I?

living-like-a-turtle.jpg

Your life, like everyone's life, is like the second hand on a clock. Tick, Tick, Tick, Tick.,..

  • Hopes and dreams
  • Financial Plans
  • Vacation Plans
  • One day I hope to (sentences)
  • I plan to one day...

... you don't realize it, but your life is running through your fingers like a sand glass timer:

hourglass.jpg

Life is meant to be enjoyed along the way.

  • You could get hit and killed by a bus tomorrow
  • You could wake up with a terminal disease
  • Anything could happen. Stop betting on your future.

Learn to laugh, enjoy life, as you go. You'll thank yourself for it, and not only that...

You'll be doing what most people don't do. Most people are not careful enough to experience new things in life as the days on the calendar keep drifting by.

Thankfully, at the very minimum we have holidays... Christmas, New Years, Halloween, Thanksgiving, 4th of July, and more..

...but Holidays (or days off or weekends) isn't where you are restricted to live your life...

You can live your life NEW and DIFFERENT every single day you wake up.

Question:

Ok @intelliguy where are you going with this? I thought I was happy before you started this crap.

Answer:

I just spent the last 2 hours talking with a neighbor... that I barely knew. I had a better indepth conversation with them, then I've ever had with many of my "best friends" from long ago.

Just listening and sharing can mean a lot to both people talking for a few hours.

Getting to know someone new (and yet different) is quite incredible. They share a part of themselves. You share a part of yourself. Next thing you know, it is a free exchange of ideas between two people.


This person, for instance, ran heavy machinery. Running heavy machinery is not my interest. However, I always wondered what it would be like to run an excavator or bulldozer. Through their eyes, and their experience, I felt like I ran heavy machinery myself.

Q: Ok, @intelliguy, I have absolutely no interest in running heavy machinery... so is that what this post is about?
A: NO!


It's about sharing bits and parts of your life with someone else. Who can listen to your stories, and share back. This is not about heavy machinery, or baking cakes, or hiking, or fishing, or even things like "I got fired once" or "I hired a guy once"

...it is about matching wits with someone who has lived life a different way than you, and offering you knowledge about themselves, their experiences, and you do the same.

There is so much to be learned and gained "out there" than this:

tv-watch.jpg

TV is edited for public consumption. It's to create couch potatoes (aka vegetables) that feed from what they put out.

For instance, tonight I missed the reality TV show "Survivor" which I usually like on USA TV...

After my nice discussion with a neighbor tonight, my TV show that I missed became worthless..

GET OUT THERE. MEET PEOPLE. SHARE IDEAS. TALK. LEARN.

Otherwise, you become a hermit crab, locked in your house, that uses the internet to socialize.

Socializing on the internet is only 25% of what it is like in real life when you can see someone smile as you speak. When they nod in appreciation, or change their tone of voice. In-person socializing isn't dead. It's just under utilized.

Sorry, I had to broadcast my feelings tonight for everyone's benefit. Has it been a long while for you? When was the last person you didn't know, that you met, and had coffee with, or a beer or two? When did you meet someone new?

For many people... it's been a little too long.

Your comments are appreciated. Tell me how you feel.


P.S. There are so many interesting people within 5 miles of you, that shop at the same grocery stores, have the same problems in life financially or otherwise, and they'd love to meet you. If you hide yourself (and they hide themselves from you) you two will never meet each other.

That's sad. Someone has to go outside their comfort zone and make the attempt. "Hi how are you.. wanna have a beer or come over for coffee?" As freakish as it sounds... open the invitation or go to someone's invitation. It is ripe for success.

You'll be doing what most people don't do. Most people are not careful enough to experience new things in life as the days on the calendar keep drifting by.

====> I get readers, but not votes. Don't do this... if you liked the post, please upvote it, so more people can see it.

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I love it! I make it a point to start a conversation with a complete stranger daily. Being from New Orleans this is a big part of my culture. Living in Arizona I noticed people are standoffish towards it but if I can affect anyone around me, I can in effect change the world around me... Sort of a butterfly effect kind of thing. Rock on, brother!

i believe it take courage to go out there and talk to strangers but once you hit it out you find its fun, tech has made us zombies that we miss the best part about humanity, human interaction and socialization

You're doing it right. We need more people like you. If we did... life would be a lot more fun. Keep it up.

I get this once in awhile where I live too. Some complete stranger will strike up a conversation with me.

My instinct is to go "are you weird, why are you talking to me, when no one else does?"

2 seconds later, I think about it and happily talk to them back. We both love it, I can tell.

Why can't people be more friendly in an unfriendly world? We need to strive for this...

Sadly there's a lot of enemies with smiling faces (frenemies). I can relate everything back to a mafia movie.

"...your murderers come with smiles. They come as your friends, the people who have cared for you all of your life, and they always seem to come at a time when you're at your weakest and most in need of their help."
-Goodfellas

So I understand people's skepticism and paranoia.

i think it cause we tend not to trust people cause of our past experiences or we are just ignorant of the others, i used to fear a colleague cause he was a non nonsense guy but when i decided to talked to him i found out he was just normal and was looking for someone to talk to him , we had stereotyped him so much that nobody wanted his company , now we are geat friends

....wow.. that is a golden moment for both you and him. I am very impressed you broke the chain and got to know him that way.. Very nice.

Too much TV or movies can sour the human soul. It's deliberate. Be careful of that.

Haha I'm definitely well aware of that. It's a way to stop us from enriching our souls. The only time I really watch it is at night when I'm sleeping because I hear ringing when there's no sound.

Lately I've been hiking a lot to take in the beauty of Arizona, writing some more deep posts on here about personal experiences I've been going through lately or meditating.

You're awesome though. I really dig this and hope to see more.

You will see more. I usually explode into a post not by routine, but when I just have to put something important into words. More stuff coming. Even I am not sure when. :) But it always will happen soon enough.. stay tuned. Even I don't know what I will post next until it envelopes me. grin.

thanks for sharing :)

By the way, the turtle reference, means you can carry your house on your back. You can seclude into your safe zone / shell whenever you want. You can move slowly through life... hoping for the future to be better. The future is here today and tomorrow. You might be missing this if you don't realize it RIGHT NOW

most people live this way and wonder why they are not happy

I came here, because I liked your turtle picture! But I stayed for a great reminder that life is short and needs to be experienced everyday to make it worthwhile. I feel that everyone gets too caught up in routines, hindering their own personal growth and learning.

Many of these tv shows, takes away hours that can be spent going on an adventure, or learning (even a little but) about a topic that you didn't previously know of. Knowledge is power, we shouldn't limit ourselves!

Mahalo,
@shello

giving up tv was one of the hardest things i had to do , now people visit me and ask if am normal, how can you not have a tv . one thought i could not afford one and offered to buy one, am glad i did give up tv.

TV = brain rot. LOL. It's a joke... but not really actually. ...sigh...

I feel that everyone gets too caught up in routines, hindering their own personal growth and learning.

You are 100% right. The majority do it. We get a safe routine, that works, and we age slowly as time goes on. One day we become really old, and look back on life, and they realize "omg, given another chance, I wouldn't have done it quite the same".

I couldn't have said that better. The best way to end your life with the least amount of regrets, is just to go out there and do it. Some routines can be good, if they help you (sleep, eating, work, school) but most things can be moved around if you try. Looking forward to more great thoughts from you in the future!~

Thanks for seeing the value in what I said, and I appreciate the value in your comments too.. You're someone who thinks very well. I appreciate that about you. Followed.

I saw that, thank you for positive and supportive outlook. I appreciate your wealth of information and experience as well c:

i agree with you we miss a lot by thinking it doesnt matter, the best lessons and interaction are out their with people , the more people we meet the better our conversations become , the more we learn and network and the richer life becomes, life is not always about making money as much as that is good but about living our life to the fullest and sometimes that involves people

What you said, means a lot. I'm impressed. I couldn't have said it better myself. Thank you for mirroring the point I was trying to make. When one person says it, it means little. When other people say the same thing, it means more. You did that today. Thank you very, very, very, much.

Yes. It's good to step outside of what you normally do and revitalise. Today, I picked up a hitchhiker and drove him home. I have met this hitchhiker before. Both times, he had a can of beer in his hand. I'm a woman. Most people wouldn't recommend this. But, hey, you only live once. So I picked this guy up and asked him how he went in the floods we had in March, because I know his house is on the river. He told me on the night of the floods his dog got washed away, so he swam after it and on his way to catch up with the dog, he realised that some of his neighbours were stuck in their houses. He rescued six households, swimming them to safety. This man is a former famous surfer who partied a bit long and hard :) I dropped him at his gate. I enjoyed our chat. Never judge a book by its cover.

I want to ask you, which channel on TV did you click to get that story?

..as you know, TV had nothing to do with it.

That hitchhiker appreciated you at that moment, as much as you did him.

People are good in general, by the majority. It is only TV that scares us to not learn about each other or take chances.

I'm really happy you did what you did for him. He's happy what you did too.

I'm even happier you could share this story with the rest of us. These things should not remain secret.

Thank you so much.

...such a beautiful tale. But it wasn't a tale. It was a real story. We should stop, and think..

No. It isn't a TV story. I'm delighted I gave him a lift. It made my day :) I don't get a TV signal where I live.

It is so difficult to get out and approach new people but I remember my father-in-law. At the time it was frustrating to go places an then wait while he chatted on with a stranger who just happened to be standing near where we paused. No one in an elevator would miss out on talking to him. The people at a crossing walk had an extended conversation about their day's errands. Since he passed on that is one of the things I miss about him.

One of my husband's big embarrassments when he was younger was that everytime they travelled to a new city his dad would find a phone book and start calling all the people with his last name in case they might be related. His family history had been lost when his father (my husband's grandfather) had died young and since then he felt a need to connect.

He was a very intelligent man and knew a lot about a lot of things. I can imagine it was both from talking to everyone (about whom he was always sincerely interested in) and from getting out and trying new things. He was 102 years old when he died and he never ran out of curiosity concerning everything and everyone around him.

One of my husband's big embarrassments when he was younger was that everytime they travelled to a new city his dad would find a phone book and start calling all the people with his last name in case they might be related

Wow. Never heard of that before, thanks for explaining why he did it though. Was he ever lucky enough to find anyone that was related?

Fantastic comment, thank for sharing these things. Very interesting!!

Sadly is other son found a contact a few years later on the internet after he died so he didn't know about it. The contact had further information that lead back to when the family immigrated to the 'states but the trail has stopped there. He continues the search...

This deserves some attention. Upvoted and resteemed :]