If you’re a lot like me…well, then I feel bad for you.
And stop being so annoying!
No…that’s not what I meant…but really…STOP!!!
Sorry…
What I meant to say was, if you’re a lot like me….
Okay…I’ve got this, now….
If you’re a lot like me, then you pretty much think absolutely
no one in the world really knows you like you know you….
How could they?
How could they know you secretly enjoy watching and
collecting Britney Spears music videos from the late 90’s.
Or that you still keep an 8 track tape player hidden in your
glove compartment, just so you can listen to all your old ABBA tapes
from the 70’s.
All defining characteristics as to who I…I mean you…really are.
Well, that and the public records that had, until recently,
been sealed.
Seriously…who?
But secret choices of music or beer isn’t really what I’m
talking about.
I’m talking about the difference in how we see ourselves compared
to the way in which the rest of the world sees us…even our closest and most
enduring friends…including the 3,600 friends you have on Facebook.
I don’t mean like secrets messages from your hamster telling
you that you need to straighten out androgynous Pat who constantly helps him or
herself to the diet coke you stash in the back of the break room fridge, every
day.
I mean more benign things, like:
I have to polish these shoes sometime before
the next decade.
Or,
I really like how I look in red, but do people think I’m just showing off?
I
think that new girl in accounting really likes me…but maybe she’s just staring
at my mole.
The
neighbors must think I’m odd because I like to sit in the attic and stare out
the window all day on Saturday and Sundays.
Hey, it’s the weekend…what else am I… I mean are you…supposed to do?
We only see ourselves from the inside looking out, with our
friend, the narrator, constantly keeping tabs.
Constantly telling us how the rest of the world, on the
outside looking in, sees us.
Or so we think…or more accurate, so the narrator thinks.
And how many times has the narrator held us back from things
we really want to do in our lives?
My
rendition of “Oklahoma” is flawless but there’s no way I’m getting up at
Karaoke night... not until they get rid of that Sushi Chef who looks at me funny.
I
should really submit my proposal to incorporate personal robots into the traffic
department, but maybe not until the boss stops thinking I’m the UPS guy.
True or not true…I don’t know? But that’s the kind of thing we tell
ourselves, every time we want to take a chance with something.
Even worse, it's very often the kind of things the narrator
tell us to think twice about, even when we’re really not taking a chance at all.
Little things like deciding to write a poem and showing it
to our friends.
Picking up a guitar and strumming it at a party.
Making a toast at your best friend’s wedding.
Making a presentation in front of your peers.
Creating art in stained glass or concrete mushrooms.
All the things that, much too often, we see from the inside,
looking out through the skewed windows attached to our minds.
They’re
all looking at me like I’m odd.
They
think I should stick to playing my iPod.
That
guy over there is looking at me weird.
That
woman in the corner is trying hard not to laugh at me.
But the reality is, from the outside looking in, all those
people are really saying is…
Hey,
I wish I could put myself out there like that.
That
was such a beautiful poem.
She
gave such a beautiful toast.
I
wish my mushrooms were as nice as that….
Hmmm…I
wonder if the effects I feel from that chili dog are making me look weird…and is
that woman in the corner laughing at me…again?
So who would you say really knows you best: you…looking from
the subjective inside out…or everybody else…looking from the objective outside in?
You against everybody else… everybody else against you...and the narrator?
Maybe we should just go with the odds.
But you’re probably thinking this is the dumbest idea you
ever heard.
I can actually hear the sneering.
Maybe I shouldn’t even post this…it’s really kind of out
there.
Ooops…I just hit the post button.
How do I retract….how do I retract…?
I can’t find the delete button….
I didn’t really mean to put this out there….
This is really embarrassing…..
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Hey, I've given this a lot of thought. And (1) That's really Dan Rather on the inside; and (2) Those on the outside really don't notice much about anything. They are listening to their own Dan Rather.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I probably told you I don't get poetry.
What poetry? You got it exactly....
DeleteExcept mine is more the Garrison Keillor type....
Very clever writing as always...
ReplyDeleteYou should see my grocery lists!
DeleteDo you recycle them? I do, so someone can copy them. Or maybe there is a collector out there, or a hoarder. Is there a difference?
Delete