Shrimpo x Dazzle !

5.6.2018 (2.0)

What have I learned today?

My roommate asked me this question this morning after she had returned from church. The problem was, while she had been out and about, making the most of her day, I had pretty much just emerged out of the cave that is my bedroom. Abashedly, I told her I hadn’t learned anything yet. She told me she’d ask again this evening. So I grabbed my laptop and a book and headed out on my adventure to learn something new, so that I would have something to show for my Sunday off.

I am currently reading ‘The Righteous Mind – Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion’, and while it is an interesting read, full of thought-challenging positions, it is jammed with more facts than I will ever be able to retain in my little baby brain. I have read many things today that made me think: “this is something I can tell Caroline that I learned today!” But if you asked me right now to recall one of those things, I would definitely struggle to remember.

So while I have been sitting here writing and reading, I have been distracted by the incessant bitching of the barista at the coffee shop I am at. For the last two hours, she has been loudly, and profanely been moaning about her boss, and her workplace, making sure everyone in this small coffee shop knows that she would rather work anywhere but here, and is out as soon as she can find a new job. Now, although this isn’t a total revelation, I have learned that most people really do not hear the useless shit that comes out of their mouths sometimes. Maybe it’s my intense exposure to a team environment in college that has tuned up my awareness of the power of words and actions (positive or negative) on those around you, but this lady has single-handedly made what would have been a nice, relaxing and reflective time, into a negative experience. Unfortunately I did not bring my headphones in, so my only recourse to tuning her out, is to leave…which I am hurrying to do as I type this right now. I realize that nobody can affect your mood or experience, unless you let them—and it has been entirely my choice to stay and listen to her constant drivel. Aside from the fact I like this coffee shop, and didn’t want to go out of my way and find a seat at a different location, I think part of me has stayed because listening to how negative and misery-mongering people can be, makes me thankful that I am not like that. While I often have intensely hopeless and negative thoughts, I do my best not to verbalize them too much, so not to drag other people down into my dark places. This is probably why I am a person of so few words. If you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say anything at all. We are all told this from a very young age, but I think more people need to take this advice a little more seriously.