Saturday, March 04, 2006
Synchronicity II
Yesterday I explored some areas of town that I hadn't yet checked out. I decided to go to Alton Baker park - which is where Autzen Stadium is and where the UO Ducks play, but since I don't care about football I'm really not sure why I'm bothering explaining this....
i went for a really long walk along the trails that follow along the Willamette River - which runs through the city, right past the downtown area and beyond. It was almost - very close - to a perfect day out. The temperture was just how I like it; the air was crisp with a slight chill to it so that if you were standing still you could feel it, but if you were moving and working your body then it didn't bother you. There was a slight breeze. The only negative was the partially overcast sky - but this is the NW so we expect that this time of the year. At least it didn't start drizzling until I reached my car at the end.
Anyway, it was the type of day that can put people into good moods, and most of the people I passed by appeared to be in high spirits.
For example, there was the street guy who propositioned me just as I passed under the Autzen bridge (I think that's the one...I still dont' know my Eugene bridges very well). Apparently he wanted me to have his baby, or he wanted my baby or something - it was all rather confusing, really - but I declined and kept walking.
But, most of the people I passed were quite friendly, we acknowledged each other with eye contact, a smile or a nod - something. It made the already fine day that much more enjoyable.
This, of course, got me to thinking. For the most part I don't find Eugenians to be very friendly. People generally keep to their own here. I asked some born-and-raised Eugenians that I know whether or not they have any good friends who were not born and raised in Eugene. They all gave it some serious thought, and came to the conclusion that, no, none of their close group of friends are transplants.
Now, I usually get along pretty well with people. I'm pretty easy going, and, unfortunately, have been called a 'nice guy' before, but that's me. I don't appologize for wanting to treat people with respect. So, screw you! I actually know many 'locals', but I wouldn't call them friends - strong aquantances, perhaps, but not 'friend'.
Also, when walking around town, most people here don't make eye-contact, they dont' acknowledge each other, so when it happens it's very much a pleasant surprise.
I thought back to the other day - to when I had had the epiphiny about writing. After I had finished writing for the day I decided to walk to a cafe and have some tea. I was in a great mood, had lots of energy, so decided to by-pass the place near me, and walk a little further towards downtown.
I mean, I was in a really good mood. Something in me must have been totally shinning through because EVEVERYBODY I passed looked at me, smiled and nodded or waved or something. People would take one look at me and I could see their face change - turn happy. That just added to my happy mood...everything was snowballing out of control!! Na, just kidding.
Now, I do also believe that our internal mood dictates what our external experience is. By this I mean that if we are feeling happy, then we will see the world as happy - how could it not be? If we are sad, then everything and everyone around us doesn't seem as bright or lively. This makes sense since we live in our own minds fully, and what is going on in our minds dictates how we see and think about the world.
But there's something more to it too. As you may have heard before, something between 70-80% of communication is actually non-verbal. So, when I was walking down the street the other day and I was in such a good mood, the people around me must have picked up on some physical signs I was sending out - and I must have been sending out some really strong signals - and so I was able to affect them in a small way. Bonus!!
So, I started to think about my time in Eugene, and how my luck and my life has changed so drastically since I've been here. We are all responsible for making our own lives, and for some reason I held back here. I was excited about moving to Oregon when the Ex and I first formulated the plan, but when I arrived here I just, in a way - and not really meaning to sound too overly dramatic, sorry- died. I left life for awhile.
What does all this have to do with synchronicity? Honestly, I'm not really sure. I was writing this out in hopes of discovering the connection, because I think there might be one - if this synchronicity thing even exists - but I still dont' know what.
Perhaps this is the connection:
About a month or so ago I was talking to this guy, who was for the most part an annoying little fuck - going on about how much money he makes how great he's doing telling everyone how great his life is, when I'm guessing that there really probably was nothing great about his life - but he did say one thing that actually interested me. I was telling him about my situation, and how I was finding it difficult fitting in here, and we talked a little bit about that, and then he said something to the effect of:
"Eugene's kinda like that. Eugene will take you for a ride, it will change your life. It will give you things and it will take things away. If you can go along with it, Eugene will usually end up giving you what you need, which may not be what you thought you needed. Some people don't make it, though, and then Eugene can be pretty harsh..."
i I think that might be it. Perhaps that was the point I was trying to make - Eugene is one big synchronicity sink hole.
i went for a really long walk along the trails that follow along the Willamette River - which runs through the city, right past the downtown area and beyond. It was almost - very close - to a perfect day out. The temperture was just how I like it; the air was crisp with a slight chill to it so that if you were standing still you could feel it, but if you were moving and working your body then it didn't bother you. There was a slight breeze. The only negative was the partially overcast sky - but this is the NW so we expect that this time of the year. At least it didn't start drizzling until I reached my car at the end.
Anyway, it was the type of day that can put people into good moods, and most of the people I passed by appeared to be in high spirits.
For example, there was the street guy who propositioned me just as I passed under the Autzen bridge (I think that's the one...I still dont' know my Eugene bridges very well). Apparently he wanted me to have his baby, or he wanted my baby or something - it was all rather confusing, really - but I declined and kept walking.
But, most of the people I passed were quite friendly, we acknowledged each other with eye contact, a smile or a nod - something. It made the already fine day that much more enjoyable.
This, of course, got me to thinking. For the most part I don't find Eugenians to be very friendly. People generally keep to their own here. I asked some born-and-raised Eugenians that I know whether or not they have any good friends who were not born and raised in Eugene. They all gave it some serious thought, and came to the conclusion that, no, none of their close group of friends are transplants.
Now, I usually get along pretty well with people. I'm pretty easy going, and, unfortunately, have been called a 'nice guy' before, but that's me. I don't appologize for wanting to treat people with respect. So, screw you! I actually know many 'locals', but I wouldn't call them friends - strong aquantances, perhaps, but not 'friend'.
Also, when walking around town, most people here don't make eye-contact, they dont' acknowledge each other, so when it happens it's very much a pleasant surprise.
I thought back to the other day - to when I had had the epiphiny about writing. After I had finished writing for the day I decided to walk to a cafe and have some tea. I was in a great mood, had lots of energy, so decided to by-pass the place near me, and walk a little further towards downtown.
I mean, I was in a really good mood. Something in me must have been totally shinning through because EVEVERYBODY I passed looked at me, smiled and nodded or waved or something. People would take one look at me and I could see their face change - turn happy. That just added to my happy mood...everything was snowballing out of control!! Na, just kidding.
Now, I do also believe that our internal mood dictates what our external experience is. By this I mean that if we are feeling happy, then we will see the world as happy - how could it not be? If we are sad, then everything and everyone around us doesn't seem as bright or lively. This makes sense since we live in our own minds fully, and what is going on in our minds dictates how we see and think about the world.
But there's something more to it too. As you may have heard before, something between 70-80% of communication is actually non-verbal. So, when I was walking down the street the other day and I was in such a good mood, the people around me must have picked up on some physical signs I was sending out - and I must have been sending out some really strong signals - and so I was able to affect them in a small way. Bonus!!
So, I started to think about my time in Eugene, and how my luck and my life has changed so drastically since I've been here. We are all responsible for making our own lives, and for some reason I held back here. I was excited about moving to Oregon when the Ex and I first formulated the plan, but when I arrived here I just, in a way - and not really meaning to sound too overly dramatic, sorry- died. I left life for awhile.
What does all this have to do with synchronicity? Honestly, I'm not really sure. I was writing this out in hopes of discovering the connection, because I think there might be one - if this synchronicity thing even exists - but I still dont' know what.
Perhaps this is the connection:
About a month or so ago I was talking to this guy, who was for the most part an annoying little fuck - going on about how much money he makes how great he's doing telling everyone how great his life is, when I'm guessing that there really probably was nothing great about his life - but he did say one thing that actually interested me. I was telling him about my situation, and how I was finding it difficult fitting in here, and we talked a little bit about that, and then he said something to the effect of:
"Eugene's kinda like that. Eugene will take you for a ride, it will change your life. It will give you things and it will take things away. If you can go along with it, Eugene will usually end up giving you what you need, which may not be what you thought you needed. Some people don't make it, though, and then Eugene can be pretty harsh..."
i I think that might be it. Perhaps that was the point I was trying to make - Eugene is one big synchronicity sink hole.
