"You're always getting into something....weird."

“But our trip was different. It was a classic affirmation of everything right and true and decent in the national character. It was a gross, physical salute to the fantastic possibilities of life in this country-but only for those with true grit. And we were chock full of that.”  - HST

People-watching is the best. I revel in the absurdity of our species.  If you can't find some humor in Ted Cruz's existence, then I feel sorry for you. People like him are an absolute joke placed on this earth to mock the shit out of. He's a minefield of absurdities - a "minority" senator with oodles of money and education,  but who still is an ignorant, fascist shithead at heart. Just goes to show that a Harvard degree and being a millionaire can't buy you a personality, an opinion that more than 2% of the population shares or manners. But I digress, as this isn't a post about politics; it's another post about embracing the random of every day existence.  

Like cats, most people value some sort of routine to their day. Sure, it's predictable, easy-to-manage and allows us not to have to think too much. But who the fuck wants that? We're a problem-solving species by nature. We need real exercises in stimulating brain activity, not the occasional board of candy-crush "saga" you throw at it to keep it limber (and...really? putting beans in a row is a "saga" now? we have to reassess our priorities here).  So what can you do to actually keep your mind from turning to mush? Well, feed it empirical evidence of the world around you. 

TV and Internet are great tools, diversions and time-sucks. They're useful to an extent. Experiencing something first hand is even better though. I like looking at pictures of cool landscapes online, but taking my camera out to the beach or woods near where I live results in finding my own amazing landscapes to partake in AND capture for other people.  I'm not asking you to do a lot to experience something different. Just close your mouth (yes, stop talking all the time) and look up from your phone one in a while, because there are some really weird and amazing things going on right around you. A friend once said to me, "God, you're always getting into something...WEIRD. How is that??" To which I laughed and said, "I'm open to it."  If your definition of "amazing" doesn't include more negative aspects of existence, try loosening the reins a little bit to allow some bad-amazing in. Things that you'd normally revile, allow them into the sphere of "amazing(ly bad)." If you're that passionate about hating something, chances are you could learn about yourself or others if you just let it in a little more.

So I leave you with this: yesterday I watched (and smelled) a bitchy older lady with a back-brace eat a sausage and onion sandwich in an enclosed room (full of other people not eating smelly sandwiches) while selling overpriced pillows, completely unaware of those around her. Surely, I was in some sort of weird Sartrean hell. Or was it just a regular Saturday?  Sartre was right and wrong about hell being...other people (sorry, spoiler alert for No Exit). Yes, people can act hellish and do all of these terrible things to each other, but sometimes people are just "another squirrel trying to get a nut." We all have different ways of getting our "nuts" in this life. Some ways are just different and more absurd than others.  From even those decidedly bizarre squirrels we can learn something though, and this, going back to Ted Cruz, is what many seem to have a block against understanding. Life is a learning experience. The empirical evidence we're granted through our interactions shouldn't keep us from ever leaving our homes again, it should invigorate us to try and reach out to others, to make connections with those we find to be worthwhile.