The other day I was walking to the library, a simple enough task. My walk took me down tree lined trails and past lakes, a truly sublime experience. I was away from a rushing world that I could hear on the periphery of my existence, and because I viscerally felt that it was important to separate myself from a world that is growing ever more chaotic, the tranquil country lanes that I walked along fit the bill.
I am a dreamer in part, and so I stopped quite a bit and looked into rivers and streams and just generally gloried in the fact that all of this natural wonder was right before me.
As I came to one of the most secluded parts of my walk, a tree lined path brandished by a lovely stream, I saw a young man staggering towards me. He had a steel pipe in his hand shaped like a boomerang, although larger, and he held it in front of him like a weapon. His eyes were wild, and desperate.
We stood there and stared at each other. He was young, early 20's and his eyes were lined with grief and sleeplessness.
"Are you going into the path?" he asked waving the steel pipe behind him.
"No", I said, looking around me casually to see if there was anyone in our periphery. There wasn't.
"I'm headed over there", and pointed towards homes a good distance away.
He nodded and advanced towards me.
Later, as I reflected on this moment, I don't know what precipitated me to say, "So, what's going on with you? Are you okay? Tell me what's happening. Talk to me. "
The young man looked at me for awhile and then gently laid down his weapon.
"Tell me what's going on," I repeated and then waited.
He was silent for a moment and then said, "Everyone hates me."
"Who hates you?"
"Everyone! Everyone is trying to take everything from me, they are trying to take everything I have."
"And you're letting them? Why would you do that?'
And so there began this dialogue between us. Eventually I asked him if he felt that he was loved, and he said yes, and so I said, by whom? And he said, by his family.
"Do they live near here?"
"Yes, over there," and then he pointed to a house close by.
"Come on, let's walk over there," I said, and so we did. I said to him, "Hang onto those who love you, and don't EVER let anyone take away your power. And remember that love is the most important thing in the world, and that you are loved. All you need is right inside you. That`s where you need to look, nowhere else."
He nodded and then we parted company.
Of course, I went into shock shortly afterwards because this story could have ended very differently. But something precipitated me to keep him talking and not to feel threatened.
As I reflect on this moment from the perspective of a little time I realize that this kid, because that`s what he was, is emblematic of everything that is going wrong in our world right now. He was so disconnected and afraid (and yes, probably really strung out too) that he was lashing out at everything and everyone. Enough to use violence.
And yet, when I look around me and see the complete disconnection of our world, one person from the other, I understand how he could have arrived at this state.
Ipods, texting into oblivion, plugged in and tuned out, what`s wrong with us? We are ripe for take over. If there is an extraterrestrial intelligence out there that wants to take over earth, now would be the time to do it.
What have we become, and how could we have allowed our humanity to become so badly compromised? How could we have become the machines we idolize, how could we have drifted away so much from who we were intended to be?
We are not automatons, although that is what we are rapidly becoming. And in the process, our cries of distress are going unheard.
I am a dreamer in part, and so I stopped quite a bit and looked into rivers and streams and just generally gloried in the fact that all of this natural wonder was right before me.
As I came to one of the most secluded parts of my walk, a tree lined path brandished by a lovely stream, I saw a young man staggering towards me. He had a steel pipe in his hand shaped like a boomerang, although larger, and he held it in front of him like a weapon. His eyes were wild, and desperate.
We stood there and stared at each other. He was young, early 20's and his eyes were lined with grief and sleeplessness.
"Are you going into the path?" he asked waving the steel pipe behind him.
"No", I said, looking around me casually to see if there was anyone in our periphery. There wasn't.
"I'm headed over there", and pointed towards homes a good distance away.
He nodded and advanced towards me.
Later, as I reflected on this moment, I don't know what precipitated me to say, "So, what's going on with you? Are you okay? Tell me what's happening. Talk to me. "
The young man looked at me for awhile and then gently laid down his weapon.
"Tell me what's going on," I repeated and then waited.
He was silent for a moment and then said, "Everyone hates me."
"Who hates you?"
"Everyone! Everyone is trying to take everything from me, they are trying to take everything I have."
"And you're letting them? Why would you do that?'
And so there began this dialogue between us. Eventually I asked him if he felt that he was loved, and he said yes, and so I said, by whom? And he said, by his family.
"Do they live near here?"
"Yes, over there," and then he pointed to a house close by.
"Come on, let's walk over there," I said, and so we did. I said to him, "Hang onto those who love you, and don't EVER let anyone take away your power. And remember that love is the most important thing in the world, and that you are loved. All you need is right inside you. That`s where you need to look, nowhere else."
He nodded and then we parted company.
Of course, I went into shock shortly afterwards because this story could have ended very differently. But something precipitated me to keep him talking and not to feel threatened.
As I reflect on this moment from the perspective of a little time I realize that this kid, because that`s what he was, is emblematic of everything that is going wrong in our world right now. He was so disconnected and afraid (and yes, probably really strung out too) that he was lashing out at everything and everyone. Enough to use violence.
And yet, when I look around me and see the complete disconnection of our world, one person from the other, I understand how he could have arrived at this state.
Ipods, texting into oblivion, plugged in and tuned out, what`s wrong with us? We are ripe for take over. If there is an extraterrestrial intelligence out there that wants to take over earth, now would be the time to do it.
What have we become, and how could we have allowed our humanity to become so badly compromised? How could we have become the machines we idolize, how could we have drifted away so much from who we were intended to be?
We are not automatons, although that is what we are rapidly becoming. And in the process, our cries of distress are going unheard.