To be or "to be"

Are people really living their lives? Are they really appreciating them?

The more people you see the more you might believe that most people are not and do not.

It seems that most people in the lands of plenty prefer an amount of protection and padding that pretty much annihilates the process of feeling life. That said there is something extremely aesthetically taught about that kind of life. It is as if humans have finally learned how to crawl back up into the womb. They wanted the comforts that that life provided, so they have gone and gotten them back.



Then there are the crazy people who still want to feel life and feel the pain that that will bring. And it isn’t as if the hazards of the worlds have decreased because of technological innovation. You can still walk off the curb at the wrong time and be mauled by a truck, or worse, a brand new Bentley. If I were to get hit by a car I would want it to be one of those cars that were designed in order to decrease the damage done to pedestrians when they hit them. They are cool. At the right speed it might be like falling into a pillow.

And there are the extreme sports types. There are those people who don’t like a sport unless there is a good chance that one can die from it. A wave is not fun to ride unless it is piping right over some sharp coral or unless it is 15+ feet tall. They like to jump out of planes and bungee jump off rocky cliff facts in the middle of Why, Arizona. They are a lot of fun.

The outdoors people just want to breath some fresh air, remember what it’s like to feel hungry, spend some time with boulders, trees, and some peace and quiet. They are pretty reasonable people. They want to remember what it’s like to feel healthy again (and take a break from all that indoor air that is always filled with countless toxins and too much carbon dioxide).

But what about the people with all their technological devices, televisions, and inside-the-car tourist experiences that would rather live life with a soft, thick pad around their entire bodies? Is there anything wrong with womb-envy? I think it is a respectable human desire. But they should know that they are deciding to not fully feel life. I don’t think most of them know this because they have also padded another part of their bodies: their minds. Life floats around for these people as they float through life. They are not here like they appear to be through the eyes of people who are here. They waft through this room and glide over to that. They consider a thought and then it drifts out without their control. They smile when told and then sleep when tired. Automatons? Apparitions.

What if the world appeared to our eyes as it really is? It would surely have a lot more giant inflatable donuts in the sky. And ghosts.