And We can Act Like We Come From Out of This World..

An observation I made this morning driving to work made me think about how one's perspectives change as one gets older. I'll use my personal perspective of course, but you can apply the same logic to nearly any one of your own long-held beliefs or feelings that fade or change as you age.

I passed a gas station and looked over and saw a car. Not any car, mind you. This one was painted end to end with Japanese anime. This wasn't a business car painted for advertising purposes but someone's private vehicle. It had eyes where the front headlights were with little bunny whiskers, and along the sides were pictures of things like Sailor Moon, manga stuff and all sorts of things like Dragonball Z.

My first thought was a "huh?" followed by a "jeez they should be embarrassed." In my younger years, my thoughts would have halted there as I revelled in the sense of superiority I had because I knew better than to look like such a dork.

But that didn't happen this morning. My thoughts continued. I gave an inward chuckle, then found myself becoming impressed by their chutzpah. And then finally, admiration for their individuality and their ability to live as they pleased, outwardly being the person they loved to be and showing everyone the things they enjoyed in life.

The difference here, I realized suddenly, was that I no longer feel that need to feel superior to others in order to make myself look better in my own internal eye. I acknowledged the envy that I'd always hidden away for people brave enough to do whatever they wanted and to hell with whatever anyone else thought. I acknowledged that now, at the age that I am and with all the steps I'm taking in my life to move towards some new places, that I felt good enough in my own skin to give them a mental high five for their willingness to put themselves out there.

And as I drove on with a grin on my face, I didn't feel the need to judge them as much as hope to be like them. It didn't matter to me that what they enjoyed wasn't what ~I~ thought was worth anything valuable. What mattered was that someone out there was living life on their own terms. Because as long as one person is doing it, there was hope for all of us.

And believe me, optimism isn't one of my more comfortable hats. But I think I like the way it looks on me.

((Song: "Safety Dance" by Men Without Hats. Lyrics here:
http://www.lyricsondemand.com/onehitwonders/safetydancelyrics.html))