Introvert Notes: Processing Peopling

I hear myself more these days and with so much noise in the world, solitude is my safe space.  No need to perform for silence- the quiet doesn’t care about what I’m driving or my next big project.  

There’s no need to throw around labels or big words to contextualize value.  I am settled, calm.. clear.  

The world feels different tho... The phrase “toxic consumption” comes to mind as I think about that one time at the 7-11.  Me, making my purchase.. as the two women behind the counter look me over, take me in..digesting my presence. 

“Lemme see your nails” the clerk says.

“Hmm” - she lets out a noise under her breath.

”Eyes on your nails, huh?” She questions, to which I respond, “Yup.”🫤

”I saw the eye on your chain.”- she confesses.

”Okay.” I respond. 

“Look,” the second clerk behind the counter exclaims while pointing to my shoulder. “She has an eye on her shoulder too!!”.

My eyes widened slightly as I stand there clearly being a spectacle for their viewing and judging pleasure.  I wasn't sure what was coming next. 

Then silence.  The transaction ends, I say thank you and leave the store. 🤔

It was weird asf for sure.. but then I realized that this is a byproduct of peopling. 

The assessing, fixing, psycho-analyzing...and general stuffing each other in boxes as we develop our own "understanding". 

Maybe not all of us..but enough of us.  We’ve become so accustomed to reducing people down to their possessions, their labels, their physical attributes (and other meaningless sub categories) that we forget to just appreciate them, with love and kindness, for just being. 

But perhaps that's because we do this to ourselves.  

How did we get here?