Wednesday, September 22, 2010
numchucks
are illegal in Canada. But not in the States. Did you know this? I went to Tennessee a while ago, and there were numchucks everywhere. Along with pellet guns, potato guns, and more bluegrass I ever thought imaginable.
What I learned however, had less to do with numchucks, and more on the importance that we place on familiarity in our lives. When I go to the States, or overseas, there's a sense of relief when I cross the border back into Canada. I breathe easier because I understand the culture, the unstated intentions of those around me, body language, implications of actions, and the general workings of the society. It may not be right, but I understand it and I can work within it.
Familiarity seems to be important. Sometimes, it can have overwhelmingly detrimental effects. For example, when women marry men who exhibit traits exactly like their abusive fathers or when alcoholics find themselves in familiar surroundings and encounter an urge to drink they thought they had kicked.
On the other hand, there is something extremely comforting about familiarity. It is a sweater I can wear over and over again because it's been worn in at just the right places. It's knowing where to sit at a family dinner and being able to predict the conversation. It's like there's a level of control there. A level of stability because you can already predict the outcome of yearly family Christmases, new year's eve traditions, and everything else we base ourselves on.
A few days ago, on a car ride, I played "would you rather" with a few friends. The question was, "would you rather drive around feeling lost for five hours, or spend five hours in a traffic jam?" While neither option is appealing (the point of the game), driving around lost for five hours creates a sense of suspension that I would rather avoid. If you don't know when the being lost is going to end, I can only imagine it would be worse. The other question I asked was, "would you rather hear three of your favourite songs over and over for the rest of your life, or never hear the same song ever again for the rest of your life?" Everyone in the car picked the three favourite songs. I'd have to agree: beautiful familiarity.
I think it's damaging to yourself when you don't allow yourself to develop a few familiar things in your life. I think people who constantly move, constantly change careers, cars, houses, friends, etc. have less rest. Familiarity allows your brain to enter into a sleep mode for a little while and just rest. People who have been displaced from their homes due to social upheaval, or live in places of turmoil or conflict, never get the opportunity to develop familiarity. And they are often even worse off for it.
What I learned however, had less to do with numchucks, and more on the importance that we place on familiarity in our lives. When I go to the States, or overseas, there's a sense of relief when I cross the border back into Canada. I breathe easier because I understand the culture, the unstated intentions of those around me, body language, implications of actions, and the general workings of the society. It may not be right, but I understand it and I can work within it.
Familiarity seems to be important. Sometimes, it can have overwhelmingly detrimental effects. For example, when women marry men who exhibit traits exactly like their abusive fathers or when alcoholics find themselves in familiar surroundings and encounter an urge to drink they thought they had kicked.
On the other hand, there is something extremely comforting about familiarity. It is a sweater I can wear over and over again because it's been worn in at just the right places. It's knowing where to sit at a family dinner and being able to predict the conversation. It's like there's a level of control there. A level of stability because you can already predict the outcome of yearly family Christmases, new year's eve traditions, and everything else we base ourselves on.
A few days ago, on a car ride, I played "would you rather" with a few friends. The question was, "would you rather drive around feeling lost for five hours, or spend five hours in a traffic jam?" While neither option is appealing (the point of the game), driving around lost for five hours creates a sense of suspension that I would rather avoid. If you don't know when the being lost is going to end, I can only imagine it would be worse. The other question I asked was, "would you rather hear three of your favourite songs over and over for the rest of your life, or never hear the same song ever again for the rest of your life?" Everyone in the car picked the three favourite songs. I'd have to agree: beautiful familiarity.
I think it's damaging to yourself when you don't allow yourself to develop a few familiar things in your life. I think people who constantly move, constantly change careers, cars, houses, friends, etc. have less rest. Familiarity allows your brain to enter into a sleep mode for a little while and just rest. People who have been displaced from their homes due to social upheaval, or live in places of turmoil or conflict, never get the opportunity to develop familiarity. And they are often even worse off for it.
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