the last three days in barcelona, i have done a lot of listening. when you listen but don't comprehend, facial expressions have a lot to say. these are absorbed alongside the constant murmur of my own self-awareness. in this day and age, i am on the super information highway, and my inner monologue seems to be in overdrive; always wanting to interpret, ask what's next, or take meaning out of often times meaningless stimuli.
one's mood typically determines how much stimuli it can or would like to handle. i think thats why we go on vacation, am i wrong? to confront new social equations in bulk but to have the excuse, in certain cases, to simply observe. how does this fare with one's feelings? this hyper awareness - is it a good thing? maybe in a state of endangerment yes, but to be able to relax, and take one's time is a lost art. i don't know that this comes readily to most people, and it seems particularly true with each new generation.
in spain, i felt nostalgia and it was somewhat refereshing. anytime i've taken a transatlantic flight, el prat has found a spot on my itinerary. i say this like i've traveled for years. i wish that was true; however if this bike schtick sustains me to the extent i can do another one next year (what could be the third annual), i will definitely return to barcelona. the oddly comfortable pace that exists is both relaxed and beautiful. it is both real and surreal. it is loud, and it is live.
barcelona is so full of energy; maybe it is the siestas, perhaps the density, maybe its in the blood of catalunyans. a few times during this trip, my friend pau, born in barcelona, ran into old friends. each time he bumped into to someone, they would stop and talk for several minutes. at times, it felt like hours, though it may have been a result of my inability to grasp all or most of what was being said.
what i took from a third person perspective was a degree of eye contact and earnestness in these encounters. do you think social cues have their own language? this is what i was musing about. perhaps i am mistaken in wanting to give the spanish an award for being so patient and personal. i respect this sort of interaction, and wish more of that was present in the united states. if switzerland = simple, then barcelona = genuine.
our generation tends to be routine in conversation. a lack of patience ought to be blamed on the generic nature of speech. dynamic thought is considered too radical so the boundaries of the typical confine too much. new ideas are less comfortable, because they involve change. change is more often used to remedy bad circumstances, not so often to improve good situations. why is this? descramble these words: are, comfort, concerns, immediate, our, able. exactly, you want to know right away. but it's not important to have the answer, because you get the picture.
i felt a desire to regress to an age when life was simpler. i think the world becoming more international is fantastic. it raises awareness, allowing, if not forcing a very healthy introspection. i believe the good in us thrives when forced to communicate without a language. we want to understand, and our face inherently suggests benevolence. unfortunately, this globalization too often takes place behind a monitor, causing a digression from the value of face; there is a tendency now to work the net instead of network; to provide a uniform visage adequate to an entire online community; to create a profile instead of leave an impression.
if you have a personal account online, question to what degree this convenience is worth your while. one day we will become robotically efficient, devoid of emotion, compassion, or inspiration. we will have so much time and money but nothing concrete. the evolution of now has been won. it is time for a revolution even if that means more loss. the ship of human relation has sunk and caused a deep recession. if i could, i would create a social network of enemies, that would someday crush and conquer the synthetic thoughts and impersonalities that populate the internet and infect our generic youth...this is turning into a hypocritical anti-online manifesto.
so anyways, barcelona was great, specifically my last night there. it was a ghost city on the south end of avinguda diagonal. and i had just enough battery left in my camera to get this picture of me on a bicing. it was the crappiest bike i have ever ridden. the gears didn't work, the front wheel was small, and the rear wheel was wobbly. that didn't matter though, because it took me where i wanted to go, and at the time this was all i needed. it was on this bike in a desolate placa del forum that i reflected on what my new year's resolution would be. i devised that this year i would become a better listener, to the people around me, and nearly as, if not more important, to my own core beliefs. bon nadal!
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