Reflections

Unconsciousness Masquerading as….

• By fannieb
• August 21, 2015
• No Comments

Unconsciousness in the form of arrogance sometimes displays itself as stupidity. If you are in a foreign country where the language is not your own and you ask for directions and they are given to you in that foreign language, one that you haven’t even taken the time to learn the smallest bit during your two previous trips there, don’t try to follow them. Just because you hear a word that rhymes with a word in English, your own language, you can’t simply substitute that rhyming word and follow the directions based on that. You’ll end up really lost. But, if you find yourself doing this, you could be suffering from a severe case of unconsciousness masquerading as arrogant stupidity.

I spent a week traveling with a friend who was in the throes of unconsciousness and it was not a joy. I managed to salvage the trip by becoming detached from her and the situations she created. I stood away from her and followed behind as she barreled through being the stereotypical rude American tourist. And I tried to smooth out things in her wake and hoped that the locals could see that I was different from her; that I was polite and appreciative of their culture.

At the end of the trip I judged my friend and said to myself, “Boy, I really thought Sally was smarter and more considerate than that. How could I have misjudged her so?” To give myself some credit it had been a long time (over 20 years) since I spent more than an afternoon with her. Trying to put it all into perspective I thought, Have we both changed in such drastically different ways? Did I change and did she stay the same? Since I have changed have my perceptions of who she was 20 years ago changed too? Could she have been so very friendly then and so obnoxiously rude now? After thinking through all these questions I came to the conclusion that we both had changed. I know I have grown in awareness and patience and that I see things very differently from the way I did 20 years ago; maybe she wasn’t as nice as I remember her being when we were roommates in college. I know in 20 years you can’t remain unchanged by the events that unfold in your life, so I know she has changed too. But while it seems I’ve grown and become more conscious and aware and have created a space of peace and serenity which I work to inhabit more and more, it seems she has grown in unconsciousness and become less aware and this has manifested itself in her rude, impatient, and illogical behavior (as seen by her botched translation of foreign words to her detriment).

As I reflect on my experience I’m grateful that I was aware enough not to be pulled in to her dysfunction. But I’m also a bit sad for my friend who has lost her way. I only hope that my presence during our travels together impacted her in some positive way, though I’ll likely never know.

Photo Credit: Daniela Munoz-Santos