Cross my heart - I'm writing this on Sunday, but I know it won't get posted until tomorrow/Monday, as I won't be scanning in any doodles today. To be frank, it's been hot here for the last week and I've had my office fan hooked up and pumping the air around all day. If I want to use my scanner I need to unplug the fan and once again exist in a hot room of still air for a short time, which I'm not willing to do. I'll just back-date it anyway so nobody will ever know…
It's been quite hot here in little old SA for the last couple of weeks, which has had me staring at the CFS alerts feed; intently on the look-out for fires. Most years there's at least one bad fire that gets pretty close to where I live, but so far we haven't had anything major in the vicinity. Here's hoping the storms and lightning tonight don't cause any issues.
I always think it's odd how lightning is such a risky condition in hot weather, as it's usually accompanied by rain. Unfortunately though, the kind of storms we get in hot weather are dry enough that a fire started by lightning will probably take hold and blast through any rain that might try to douse it. It's why I always get a bit nervous around thunder and lightning… that and the fact that it always freaks out pets and I feel sorry for them.
Hot weather is not my favourite thing in the world, hence sitting right next to a fan blowing cool air all over me, all day. I often make the mistake of filling a huge glass with ice, then topping it off with water so that it quickly chills. It's a mistake because when I eventually go and drink as much of the ice cold water as I can, my body gets a bit of a shock and I end up with a bad case of the hiccups. Let me tell you, trying to stay cool with the hiccups is not a fun endeavour.
At least it's better than when I worked in a bakery where physical labour, a small space, and industrial ovens kept everything hot and sweaty. On the really hot days I always wondered just how much sweat made it into the dough we worked, despite keeping clean and everything in order. I mean, there had to be something going on there right? It's just one of those things that we never talk about too much.
There's a lot of stuff like that in workplaces, but not so much when you work from home… alone. I have loads of stories from jobs I've worked in the past, but none from working at home because I'm just not that exciting when I'm working alone. The best stories come from the things that random work colleagues do and say, thanks to the joy of being put in close proximity with a bunch of people you would never ordinarily socialise with.
I like it though; the mixing with people far from our natural frame of reference. It's only natural that we gravitate to others who are generally likeminded and share a few important traits and opinions with ourselves. We don't get to choose as much when we work with others, as the only thing we have in common might be the job we share. I've always loved that element of working, even if it's sometimes and undesirable situation, it keeps reminding you that there are other people in the world… and chances are you don't like them.
Not to say that you have to dislike anyone different than you, but it cracks me up to see the strain on a colleague's face as they wrestle with something I just said, which they clearly disagree with. Turns out that being confronted with different opinions and perspectives can be a little bit confusing at times.
One of the most interesting things to learn about other people is their religious views. The simple fact of the matter is that I never mix with seriously religious people, simply because that's how it's panned out for me. I'm not religious at all, so I don't find myself in places where I would meet and spend time with religious folk. So when I find out that I'm talking to someone who is a full on practising religious person, I want to know more. It's like peering into another world when someone describes their different life to you, which I think is both a privilege and ultimately fascinating.
If you know me you might have heard it before, but one of the best conversations/debates that I've ever had was with a couple of Christian dudes when I was going to university. They represented the Christian group at the university and were recruiting members (just as every group at uni does), so I found myself having a chat with them between classes one day. It was an excellent discussion, as we explored our differing perspectives in a logical and respectful fashion. They couldn't fathom the fact that I wouldn't want to get into heaven (seeing as I don't believe it exists), but we discussed weather heaven is an appropriate reason for living a good life anyway.
There was obviously a lot more to it, but I remember that conversation to this day, as it was the first time I had the thrill of getting into it with someone from a different world. The feeling is electric when it all works, and it's helped inform my approach to similar situations ever since. When I was younger I might have been a bit more combative when discussing religion, as I was naively righteous and hated the corruption and economic subjection religion endorsed. There are still clear reasons why I dislike organised religion, but thankfully I've grown to a more nuanced position of understanding the different between the organisation, and those that subscribe to the newsletter.
I still consider myself to be fairly anti-religion, but not in an angry or fearful way. It's the same reason I'm anti-government, or anti-corporations… there are forces in the world that get away with evil behaviour, and it has nothing to do with religion per se.
To get away from religion and rewind a few paragraphs: half the time the joy of working with an odd group of people can be as simple as differing interests. I've worked with loads of people who are really into sport, so whenever something big was happening in any given sport, it would be celebrated at work. I personally have no interest in sport (aside from mucking around with friends IRL or in a video game), so this is another world I have no reference point for.
It's why I know about all the footballers who get in trouble for getting on the piss and abusing women, because my work mates often excuse the behaviour due to them being good at their sport. It's an odd culture that only puts me off sport even more, as it seems like there's no responsibility required if you have some talent. Without getting too far down the rabbit hole, it's the same with any person who is in a position of being a role model to others: such a role brings responsibility with it. If you don't want to be a role model or have influence over others, choose a different position and go be a dickhead in private. Even though that's a broad stroke of my views on the matter, it's just a way to highlight how different opinions can be. The amount of times I've said "boy, they sound like a real jerk" only to be scoffed at and told how great the jerk is at their sport… as if that excuses them for being a complete tool.
Anyway, I digress… the point is that these experiences are all a great way to remind yourself that the world is larger than what's in front of your nose. I worry about our echo chambers that we create on social media and within our friendship groups, as it ends up being an artificial source of confirmation bias. If we keep editing out and ignoring all the people we don't want to hear from, then we'll end up having no capacity to cope with conflict as it inevitably comes our way.
Thus, I think my train of thought for this week is best summed up as a hope for the future. I hope that we allow ourselves to be exposed to differing opinions and perspectives that exist around us. I hope that we never end up only existing in small cliques of like-minded individuals, because if that happens we'll never be able to come to any common ground. It's basic empathy - stand in someone else's shoes for a while and see what they're all about… the shoes mightn't fit, but understanding counts for everything in this world of fear.
Be excellent.