I don’t know about you, but I’m at the stage in my journey where I don’t want to only interact with people who believe in the same things that I believe. But what I like about those spaces is that it’s wonderful to hear about their journeys without any judgements and without assumptions. I don’t need to hear why my team is great and the other teams are shit. I don’t need that. But I like hearing about their journeys that have led them to where they are now in life.

2016-08-05 Eden Bar Going Away Party
2016-08-05 Eden Bar Going Away Party

And some of the most wonderful moments in my life has been when I’ve enjoyed the company of people from very different places, but for one reason or another I’ve been lucky enough to have been their friend. In 2016, the night before I drove across across country to start a new life in Las Vegas, I had a going away party at one of my favorite places, Eden Bar at the Enzian Theater in Maitland, FL. I explained to one party goer that some of these people worked with me at Full Sail University and Full Sail Labs, some of them I’d met through local open mic nights and Blues Music gatherings and some were my Nonbelievers/Atheist friends whom I’d met along the way. I have been most fortunate that I’ve had the freedom to explore my many interests and along the way I’ve met and heard the stories of a lot of great people. 

I’m so much more interested in that than discussions about why X is better than Z. I’m sure that there are dozens of reasons why I’ve come to this place in life. We can start with being a non-Spanish-speaking Mexican raised in white-Orange County in the 1960s/70s, raised by a devote Catholic mother and hardworking Baptist father, a kid who didn’t care about reading who fell in love with words in high school because he became a Jesus Freak and that’s where he could learn more about this Savior. All of this led me to become an observer because I saw the “otherness” in myself, not fitting in where I was supposed to fit in. And over time, over a long time, I came to realize that we are all “other” and it’s amazing when we share our stories and see ourselves in each other. I learned to listen. 

I need to do that more on a more regular basis. Of course, that requires that I get off my butt, stop watching endless short videos on FaceBook and YouTube and actually interact with people. It’s an unfortunate part of getting older that one is less likely to step out from the day-to-day grind and invest the time and energy to just be with others. Many of us are just so tired and worn out from the grind that we don’t have anything left. We don’t have the energy that we did when we were younger. All the more reason to find ways to get out of the house and let others tell their story. Sometimes it can be that you’re thankful that you didn’t go through what they went through, sometimes it might be that you did go through the same shit and sometimes it’s just nice to see how it makes them feel when they feel heard. Happy Monday, y’all. I hope you get a chance to be heard and to hear others’ stories. 

2014-10-17_office-selfie-3
2014-10-17_office-selfie-3

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