Beating the system... seems to me that this is what most people spend most of their lives doing... the transportation system, education system, work place system... blah blah blah.. so many systems we live in... isn't that complicated?
so what's so complicated? well it's the whole chicken and egg thing again (darn this chicken)... see, a system is made up of people who create it, and run it... but then the people are moulded by the system also, so adhering to the rules becomes so habitual that they continue to run it in the same way... so if u look at it closely enough, you start wondering: who is running who?
let's take a look at the transportation system... ok to put it more accurately, let's look at one component of this system: moving to the rear of the bus. So how does this system work? You get on the bus and look around for a seat (it is a long ride and you do have to rest those legs... imagine standing for ages in those toe-pinching leather shoes or heels.. ouch). If you find one, good for you! If not, keep standing baby... Ah but the key issue here is stand where? Most people like to stand near the door, or in the passageway before it narrows into the rear. The reason is obvious isn't it? They wanna be able to alight as conveniently without smashing into 1 million people (the other 2.5 million people drive to work) on their way off. So this creates a system, albeit quite a micro one. Ok so now the system has been created and slowly, this system starts running the people. It becomes so normal that despite many stares from people squashed in the front of the bus, and despite the relentless pleas of the bus driver, no one moves. Ok ok they move sometimes, like a few inches just so to prevent their feet from cramping after remaining in the same position for too long. This kind of gets on my nerve... for one, I sometimes feel quite an idiot to be the only person who has moved to the back of the bus (hello I DON'T have BO)... for another, it irks me to hear someone get stopped from moving too far back... I mean, talk about spreading selfishness...
You know what... I just realised I sound like some constantly frustrated-with-society individual... what with this entry and the previous one... and you know what? I think I am... This whole system thing is so... confining... so... monotonous... I don't care if I (along with so many others) do well in the system... who says that doing well in the system means you are happy with it?
I think we need more of such styles of thinking... forcing ourselves to see the little irksome things in our lives... You may wanna call it nit-picking... but I say it's got quite some stress-relieving component in it... I also say that by seeing the not-so-good sides of some things, it becomes easier to appreciate these things...
After all, appreciation is an ability that is all encompassing... it's not just about the good stuff in life...
