Friday, June 19, 2015

Water + Light =?

Get a handle on yourself
London, ON
June 2015
For more Thematic dinner tables, head here
I've never been overly fond of big parties or similarly crowded scenes like concerts or large public gatherings. Too much noise, too many people in close proximity, and either too much or too little light. I know this makes me sound like a whiner, but I'd generally rather find a quiet spot and just chill.

I realize‎ these moments serve an important purpose, though. You can't spend your entire life sitting by the sidelines, and metaphorically as well as literally, you have to get up and dance every once in a while. You can't stay home every night of your life: Sometimes you simply need to dive in and connect with folks you haven't seen in a while.

Two opposing needs. What to do?

Whenever I'm in the middle of an overwhelming wave of sound, light and humanity, I look for respite in the details. I grab my smartphone and take a little photo siesta while everything and everyone buzzes around me. I don't make it obvious. Rather, it's like a quick little sanity break before I put my smile back on and rejoin the party.

Because sometimes you just need to find a quiet moment amidst the chaos.

Your turn: How do you find peace in the middle of places where there seemingly is none?

2 comments:

Common Household Mom said...

This is a very good question, to which everyone needs to find his or her own answer. I like what your solution is.

I tend to try to look for the basics of life and if they are there, be thankful for them. If it's noisy, is it at least not a war zone? If it's a lot of people, are they at least getting along reasonably well? Will I most likely have a respite in a few hours? And I pray - pray for others and pray prayers of thanks.

Somewhere round about said...

Good question. Recently attending a concert in out city and found (to my great annoyance) that i'd pitched up way too early.
What to do?

Didn't have enough money to pop into a local pub, it was too late to take a stroll round a park, didn't need to eat.
Where to go?

In the end i remembered that just down the road our hospital outpatient department's waiting room is open all hours.
So, book at hand and coffee machines right there, i settled down for an hour's worth of silent down-time.

Then up'd sticks and wandered right on back to a crowded, noisy, appreciative group of music lovers and thoroughly enjoyed the second part of my night out.