Tag Archives: Shakespeare

Normalized Desensitization

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Squinting through sensationalistic headlines that land on lazy, apathetic eyes. Digging out from beneath a mountain of misinformation to find just enough oxygen to breathe a molecule of truth. Untying knots of strategic manipulation to stretch a straight line from catalyst to result. Differentiating sarcasm from sincerity to avoid misconstrued intention. Offering the benefit of the doubt before blatant dismissal. Reaching out with an open hand instead of a closed fist.

These would all seem like logical, sensible modes of operation in our modern society.

But when was the last time you witnessed any of this regularly practiced?

In our knee-jerk, zero-tolerance culture, fingers are rarely pulled from triggers before shots are fired. We have normalized fury, ignorance, outrage, laziness, and intolerance.

News that would have felt impossibly fictitious only a decade ago now holds the intellectual weight of a weather report. Disposable, dismissible sound bites float almost silently in one ear and then quickly exit the other. We half-focus on everything before instantly abandoning even the notion of comprehension, let alone action.

The big bad news is that none of this behavior is abating. With each passing year, the seeds of our future discontent are being sown with the rapidity of a hyperactive nut-gathering squirrel.

So, do we bend under the weight of stacked distractions, or do we force our heads out of the sand and stand accountable? Passivity and avoidance aren’t what medals are made of…but courage and clarity are the ingredients of greatness.

Adolescence Interrupted 

Isolated Incidents

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“To thine own self be true.” -William Shakespeare

Framing an existence through the filter of personal perception is a simple task for an introvert. We walk through the world as observers, internally commenting on the people and events that paint the landscape of our journeys. At times, we question the motivations of the masses and shake our heads at the absurdity of society’s accepted rituals, wondering how we could be so far from average.

This self-imposed exile can both comfort and corrode, but the impetus to peel away the security blanket is often the needle in a hay silo. Our feet aren’t shaped to walk on the same path as yours, so we, quite literally, are late to arrive at the party.

My only respite from the streaming onslaught of thoughts, analyses, and a babbling internal dialogue is the studied focus on a bouncing yellow tennis ball or the two-hour “braincation” achieved by sitting in a theater, staring at a screen or stage depicting someone else’s adventures.

Like everything else, the chasm between chatty party guy and weirdo on the wall has widened with age. I have a hard time remembering the high fives and toothy grins, the eagerness to meet someone new, or the desire to play any role other than whatever feels authentic in the moment. I’m far too occupied swinging on the monkey bars of my own intellectual jungle gym to take a break and explore the rest of the playground.

Maybe this changes. Maybe not. I have lived a life of streaks and patterns, so I never rule out the possibility of 180s. But being a stranger in a strange land, surrounded by friends and familiarity, is a bizarre phenomenon.

Adolescence Interrupted