Musings of an Introvert

April 15, 2004 13 Comments

A happy memory came to mind the other day. I was in my young teens. I was at camp. I had gotten up early and walked down by the river the flowers grew, and gathered an armfull of fresh, dew-covered blooms. And I stood at the doorway to the mess hall at breakfast time, smiling and offering flowers to everyone who entered. I don’t think more than one or two, boys of course, refused them. I saw so many beautiful smiles…

Yeah, I’m a hippy. Shut up.

I’m an introvert on anyone’s chart, shy of crowds, nervous about meeting people, awkward in nearly any group. But lately I’ve been reflecting on the effect that a little positive attention has on me. I change into a different person almost – more open, more confident. I’m beginning to suspect myself of having latent gregarious tendencies. When someone does something to cut through the pall of fear that surrounds me in any social social situation, it’s like long-curled leaves uncurl and open inside me. And I want more… it’s easy for me to get overstimulated, so unused to the feeling I am. But I like this side of me, and I wish I could see it/be it more. I wish I could prime the pump myself, instead of waiting, hoping for some kind-hearted extrovert to happen upon the key.

I miss that Avdi – the one who hands out flowers, the one who leaves anonymous notes of encouragement, the one delights most of all in bringing joy to people. Most of you probably know me as the protective casing – the critically rational cynic. Yeah, I keep my cynicism somewhat in check, but it still forms the dominant feature of my public face.

Forgive the self-indulgence, but sometimes I hate being me. My dad was an engineer and my mom was an artist, and I am both of those things trapped in one head – the rational and the intuitive, the passionate and the conservative, the sympathetic and the coldly analytical.

I wish that years and years of isolation had not stripped me of any ability I might have had to initiate human contact. I wish I wasn’t so intimidated by a jaded demeanor and an elaborate outfit. I wish I had no fear. I have no time for fear. I want to always walk in that mental place where creating love and joy is paramount and every other concern pales in comparison. Because that stuff really is most important to me, and every day that I forget that fact is just lost time.

Yeah, I know, I sound like a fucking new-age hippie stoner. Fuck you.

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13 Comments

  1. othniel77 April 15, 2004 at 16:30

    Hippie!!! 🙂
    You’re getting some patchouli incense for your birthday!

    1. darthcrank April 15, 2004 at 16:51

      I’ll provide the nag champa…

      1. othniel77 April 15, 2004 at 17:03

        I’d send him a tie-dye kit but he might use it on the cat.

      2. avdi April 15, 2004 at 19:38

        I’ll take as much Patchouli and Nag Champa as you guys want to send me… we go through that stuff fast.

      3. avivahg April 15, 2004 at 21:11

        Yay! I’m almost out!

  2. __batgirl__ April 15, 2004 at 16:43

    lol well recently with eigen_vector’s LJ, my response to fuck you was, of course, fuck you too but i know him

    I don’t buy the alleged division between emotional and rationality. emotions and sensitivity are rational if one is willing to examine the logic of them. i mention this, not to lecture, but to offer it as something that might help you see less of a division and more of a whole inside yourself. think honestly about what you gain or avoid by being withdrawn, whats its real logic is, then consider if there are other logical methods for obtaining those factors or other forms of logic that would obviate the need for them.

    ex – desire to avoid idiots. logical. but that can also be accomplished by observing people first to gauge the odds (alt method) or you could decide that its worth investing a few minutes to find out (alt logic)

  3. sharissa April 15, 2004 at 17:34

    I passed out dead flowers at Halloween one year, but I suppose that is something different. 🙂

  4. thesaj April 15, 2004 at 19:04

    …

    I love ferns…”fiddle-heads” rock!

    1. othniel77 April 15, 2004 at 20:36

      Re: …

      We Canucks cook them suckers and serve fiddleheads as side dish!

  5. ex_mamawolf402 April 15, 2004 at 21:51

    >>>I want to always walk in that mental place where creating love and joy is paramount and every other concern pales in comparison<<<

    Trust me , you are not alone..

  6. aeolis April 16, 2004 at 03:31

    You don’t sound like a hippie at all.
    You sound like an intelligent thinking person.
    Someone who has the courage to examine an re-evaluate themself in a constuctive and honest manner.
    Then again, that may be the very definition of hippie…
    what the fuck do I know!

    1. innocent_knives April 16, 2004 at 15:48

      Well, actually, I concur…
      Though, I feel I don’t know Avdi very well, so I should stay out of it.
      ~shuts up quickly~

  7. rebekahrae April 17, 2004 at 03:20

    I miss that Avdi too.

    But I know he’s not gone.

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