Despite boasting freedom and independence, most of us give in to social conventions and repress even the most innocent fancies. Take this test to see if you are really a free person.
Anyone would think that we, citizens of Western countries, are free people. We can choose our leaders, our profession, our love, our friends, our living place and our hobbies. Surely we enjoy a much greater freedom than our grandparents did, or than lots of people still do worldwide.
Yet in some simple things we do not allow ourselves the freedom to act spontaneously. Here is a list of five innocent things that we usually do not dare to do. Can you do them?
While walking on the street, have you never felt that you could dance or sing with sheer happiness? Have you ever actually done it? It is almost impossible. The same goes for talking alone on the street. I love to walk and talk to myself, it helps me to think. But I cannot do it in front of bywalkers. Can you?
It is so funny, but very often we are surreptitiously looking at someone that deeply interests us (for whatever reason) yet if that person looks at us we look away and pretend we haven’t noticed.
If you think about it, people almost never look into each other’s eyes. When you are talking with someone, usually you look at their mouth (at least, I do), never their eyes. When you get stuck into a lift with unknown people, you never look at them, as if that was bad or something. Only two people that love or hate each other can bear to look one another in the eyes for fully ten seconds: I read that once, and it is true.
There are a lot of bodily reactions that are highly embarrassing for the person experiencing them. People that happen to burp, have an erection or show blood on their pants because of menstruation will certainly feel guilty and ashamed, although these are normal reactions and nothing to be ashamed of. It is strange to repress them when other behaviours much more unpleasant (such as smoking, being drunken or using scornful, hateful language) are tolerated.
Sometimes when we are outside we feel bored or lonely and we would like to meet someone, to have a little company. And sitting on a bench just in front of us there is that beautiful person, also alone and seemingly day-dreaming. And instead of just advancing and saying “Hello, I am here, do you want to talk?”, we begin worrying about the person’s reaction and convincing ourselves that it is bound to fail (”I am going to intrude, probably he/she wants to be alone, surely they will think I am a weirdo if I just go and talk to them…”). So we do not try, and we miss the oportunity to meet someone that might change our life. Isn’t that a shame?
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