Whenever I read an autobiography or someone else's journal, I feel like I'm intruding on that person. Everything is always so personal and holds so much significance for those people.
In APLAC, I'm reading a book titled Journal of a Solitude by May Sarton. It's a compilation of her journal entries over a year (she didn't write a journal entry every day, so there are probably around two hundred entries in there, which is still pretty impressive. Her journal entries are more consistent than my posts, hahaha...).
I have only just begun to read this book, and I feel like I'm watching over her in the moments that she wrote about. That kind of sounded creepy. I mean it in the least creepiest way possible.
I kind of dislike the feeling of intruding, though. Yes, these people put out their words for others to read, but I sometimes feel uncomfortable getting to know someone so well by their descriptions of the little intimate moments in their life. You really get to walk around in their shoes, and it really makes you think about their situation. Perhaps I'm uncomfortable because I am forced to stop being a myopic child and really start to understand other people's thoughts, feelings, and beliefs.
I believe that the world would be a better place if we all just walked around in each other's shoes for a day. Most of our problems are spurned from our inability to understand other people's situations, as well as our lack of sympathy.
I wonder. What if we all wrote autobiographies? What if the people around you knew who you really were, what you went through, and how everything has affected you? Would we still be creatures of hatred, jealousy, and sadness, or would we become loving, generous, and content?
Well, that's what's been floating in my head all day.
What do you guys think? Do you think walking around in other people's shoes would help society advance into a place of less hatred? How do you guys feel about reading other people's autobiographies and journals?
As a final note, I challenge you all to try to walk around in someone else's shoes. Try to be more understanding of someone. If we want to change the world, we have to begin with ourselves!
In APLAC, I'm reading a book titled Journal of a Solitude by May Sarton. It's a compilation of her journal entries over a year (she didn't write a journal entry every day, so there are probably around two hundred entries in there, which is still pretty impressive. Her journal entries are more consistent than my posts, hahaha...).
I have only just begun to read this book, and I feel like I'm watching over her in the moments that she wrote about. That kind of sounded creepy. I mean it in the least creepiest way possible.
I kind of dislike the feeling of intruding, though. Yes, these people put out their words for others to read, but I sometimes feel uncomfortable getting to know someone so well by their descriptions of the little intimate moments in their life. You really get to walk around in their shoes, and it really makes you think about their situation. Perhaps I'm uncomfortable because I am forced to stop being a myopic child and really start to understand other people's thoughts, feelings, and beliefs.
I believe that the world would be a better place if we all just walked around in each other's shoes for a day. Most of our problems are spurned from our inability to understand other people's situations, as well as our lack of sympathy.
I wonder. What if we all wrote autobiographies? What if the people around you knew who you really were, what you went through, and how everything has affected you? Would we still be creatures of hatred, jealousy, and sadness, or would we become loving, generous, and content?
Well, that's what's been floating in my head all day.
What do you guys think? Do you think walking around in other people's shoes would help society advance into a place of less hatred? How do you guys feel about reading other people's autobiographies and journals?
As a final note, I challenge you all to try to walk around in someone else's shoes. Try to be more understanding of someone. If we want to change the world, we have to begin with ourselves!