I was trying to read at the pool yesterday and found myself in the middle of a group of sunbathing med-students. For about an hour, the main topics could probably be classified into one of two areas: people and food. Totally important and involving topics, both with potential for inviting beauty or insane disgrace.
Keywords that kept coming up: "the other resident", "damn orthopedic shoes", "I can't believe she....", etcetera. Defaming one person after another. Trying to eat "healthy" by forcing down light yogurt and celery sticks between breaks.
The celery sticks part made me laugh, but overall, energy zapping.
People love to talk, but most of it is misguided fluff, no? It makes me wonder what they (we) really want to be talking about. Anger, truth, living more whole?
We are lovers of good conversation. But we are often surrounded by the same people, even people we really love, without even knowing them.
People will always be part of our lives, and food brings us together. More than anything, I have a feeling this is a generation that wants to talk about something that lasts.
(I love this picture from a New York Times column published about a year ago. It is at a school with huge cultural divides and behavior problems. The kids cook their own meal with home-grown produce, set a beautiful table, then enjoy their food while discussing big things. The girl's prompt card reads: "Which is more powerful, LOVE or HATE ?". Behavior problems are now a minimal issue.)