Bubbles

I went for a walk through south campus again today. I love it. It soothes the silly teenage insecurities and worries in my mind. It reminds me how insignificant we all are in the grand scheme of things, why waste a short life span? It reminds me to be happy about what is good, try to change that which is not good and ignore the things I cannot alter.

But on my way home, as I was crossing the road, I came across a small girl and her mother. The girl had a little bubble blower. She had covered the entire road in small, floating, glistening, soapy, colourful bubbles. You should have seen it, everyone smiling at something so simple.

Taking joy out of the simple things is what really matters. That’s the key to happiness I think.

17-7-2011

I live very close to a campsite, in quite a scenic location. So that means everyday there are lots of strangers walking along the roads around my house. Today like most other days I brought my dog for a walk. No matter what, I always try to say hi or hello to the people I meet, whether I know them or not. I’m always amazed by their reactions. Some will look away instantly and outright ignore my greeting. I can only assume that they’ve realized, yes I am a teenager and as such I’m clearly going to mug them. Others will return the greeting but their eyes glare at me, warning me not to pursue any further conversation. The rest all try, with varying degrees of success, to mask their surprise at the greeting. They then reply in kind before promptly walking past.

It’s kind of horrible to think that we as a society are terrified of talking to strangers. How long before we start to favor isolation over any form of communication?