Visualisation

Sense it

Onstage he had thousands of adoring fans, some screaming, many fawning, many singing along to the lyrics. When he decided to give busking a go to see what would happen, most people walked on by paying him no attention whatsoever. We assume a busker is just a busker. Context is all. It takes razzmatazz for us to believe. A famous person is a nobody that is known by no end of nobodies. If you spend ten times as much on a meal as you normally do, is it ten times better? Is the same meal with different people quite different?

Stale popcorn has been given to moviegoers. No complaints were made because people’s focus was primarily on the film. When we do home in on what we have in our hands we can be so much more critical and sometimes feel a duty to be complimentary too. It is quite a marvellous thing, being switched on to what is around you. Appreciating the qualities of the here and now. Some are only satisfied with perfection and rarely enjoy what something is as it is.

A mundane afternoon wandering around the shops can be turned into an entertaining experience. It might be a cold day with light drizzle, not to your liking, but you can enjoy the freshness, the difference, the change felt by your senses. You can actively revel in each moment. Try talking to as many people as possible, purely for the experience, as an experiment. If you lack the daring, think about how lucky you are. Lucky that you are not unwell, lucky that you can walk. Make the effort to talk to the shelf stacker, say hello to the people waiting at the bus stop, talk to as many people as you can. You might get an odd reaction at times, but you won’t be an anonymous figure that day. Never let one miserable person spoil the party. There is no need to transform yourself into the local crazy one. Remember, people can feel invisible doing a mundane job and generally appreciate the interaction.

Another little game people play when at a party or gathering is to approach the dullest looking person and see if they can find out something interesting about them. If not the dullest then maybe someone who appears posh or brash. You may find that the upper-class demeanour doesn’t run too deep and behind the loud exhibition is someone full of life and energy. There can be more to someone’s story than what we assume from the early impression we get of them. Getting to know someone a little and listening to them changes your overall interpretation of the people of this world. Just being alive is enough to interact as you see fit.

Problems can be our salvation. Problems can provide the inspiration and impetus to set forth on a new challenge. More awkward and unforeseen problems that we come across can test our individual character. When things don’t pan out the way we want, some people become het up whilst others simply take advantage of their situation. When held up by a late arriving train an opportunity arises to compare notes with those in the same boat. Some delayed in traffic use the time to have a little think. This is easier said than done though if the pressures of work mean that the knock-on effect is costly. We can’t all reconfigure our lives as easily as others to reduce the weight on our shoulders. However, it can be factored into our decisions about what we take on.

Being human entails letting off steam sometimes. A punch bag set up in the garden provides an outlet for pent up anger, so use it. When you are annoyed with someone, you can yell at them at the top of your voice. You can also yell ‘at them’ at the top of your voice somewhere private where no one can hear. Reel off what you want to say. Reel it off frequently on your own somewhere. As you continue to vent, the anger can fade. Vocalize it, get it out of you. Then if you do confront that person, you can tell them about your gripes in a calm manner. Alternatively, we can ask ourselves what we want. What would solve the problem? Plot and plan a solution. Bad people often win short term. To obtain what you truly want, niceties prevail.

Conserve your energy for the fights that aid your cause. It is tempting to hold everyone to account for their misdeeds, but who will win? Some have endless drama in their lives. They are adept at magnifying the importance of trivial things. They will make a minor transgression seem like a major infraction. The sympathy they seek to get is primarily for attention. They ply their tradecraft drawing people into their sticky web. Some of the most fluffy, soft, and outwardly pleasant people in your midst use cutting remarks to slay your progress. They are masters of manipulation. Many were dealt the best hand in life. They have sailed through. They got lots of attention in the years gone by and are addicted to self-relevance. They get under your skin, dwelling in your mind for far too long. They will not support you. They will not stand by and be neutral. They will slyly impede your progress. Let go.