Privacy, security, and sharing...?

Weird how we insist on both our privacy and ensuring ourselves that our lives and property are secure, yet we thrive on each other's company! But it's likely that the former disposition ensures that we can surround ourselves with those of our choosing, so as to feel both safe and socially accepted at the same time. As aristotle said, 'man is a social animal' (or maybe he said 'political'? can't remember...). Despite this, we continually put up walls (both literally and figuratively) so as to prescribe as much as possible specific groups of inclusion with which we are comfortable.

A thanksgiving weekend with family reminds me how important it is to let our guards down and have an open mind with respect to the relationships in our lives. Trying to maintain control, privacy, and security only serves to lessen the experience we bring to one another. Putting our defenses at bay while sharing with one another allows for a deeper more fulfilling experience, and once I was able to remind myself of that I was able to enjoy those around me (despite the busyness and frantic pace of holidays spent with family) all the more. Yet we spend a huge chunk of our lives constructing environments in which we can control our social experiences and tailor them to our own very specific preferences! So don't forget to let your guard down over the holidays...thanksgiving serves as a good practice run in preparation for Christmas. Don't pretend like you're going to get time to yourself have control over the experience, let your guard down and see what happens!

Perhaps that's why I enjoy taking transit so much...I've got no say over who's around me and taking the same bus/train. Yet here our walls are more evident than ever....eyes down, ipod on, shuffling away from one another so as to outline our personal bubbles, which shrink but never go away the more people get on. At least, on the surface, it's an out of control social experience...

Happy Thanksgiving - and if you felt it was out of control, maybe that was a good thing!