Seclusion in Airports

If it weren’t for circumstances out of my control then I wouldn’t have ever written these simple words.

Airports are some of the most interesting places in the world… especially chaotic airports during a thick and rugged thunderstorm. (That’s me… right now). Check in, take my bags, boarding pass, security, people, food, bookstore, gate 19, music, rain, delay, people, chatter, more rain, more delay, music, people, chatter, lines, board, sleep, dream. Rule: don’t speak to anyone that doesn’t work here unless you’re asking for the time or complaining. However asking about someone’s life, where they’re going and why, who they are and who’ve they’ve become over the years, what they’ve learned through the many minds they’ve encountered and interacted with, or why they chose to occupy their time the way that they do, even for the simplest understanding to satisfy a natural curiosity, is clearly not customary or conventional.

Are we the way we ought to be?

How ought we behave in airports? This seems like an issue involving airport etiquette or politeness. What is assumed as respectful here is leaving people alone and minding your business… sort of strange and unfortunate considering this is a place of such rich social and cognitive diversity.

As I sit hear on the airport carpet with headphones plugged into my ears (a perfect example of a living contradiction), I simply wonder why this ideal world doesn’t exist. I simply wonder why we, or I in this case, fear connection when it seems like that’s a large part of what we live for. What drives this fear- is it something social, biological, maybe psychological? Where does it come from and how do we battle it? Something we most strongly desire as humans is to feel united, connected in some way, but we don’t take actions that would manifest social norms to encourage this ideal world. And furthermore, I question how we change these behavioral patterns; it often feels like we possess the power to craft and re-craft what we consider as cultural standards for our generation and future ones as well.

The loss of community in this country seems to be a reoccurring social theme that we as individuals tend not to address as seriously as it deserves to be addressed. Instead, the focuses for many people appear to be time and money, two social constructs that organize and re-order our conceptions of this curious actuality called life, steering us away from the fact that we’re constantly existing in a wondrous and mysterious phenomenon. I’m starting to feel trapped here in this airport, literally and figuratively. Music is my escape.

However on a more optimistic note, I look around all the time and see interaction, smiles, laughter, reflection, compassion, generosity, courage, and love. Observing such human variety in a place like this, I can only believe there’s so much that could be gained from conversations with people who move through these modern social travel centers.

I believe genuinely in a true human community, and observe traces of such a manifestation frequently. It’s thoroughly wonderful and comforting on a profound level when we touch such moments, even if they’re fleeting.

This could just be me. I always might be wrong. I don’t sincerely feel like I truly know anything in the world. Mystery is beauty is life. Question.

"Look at me, oh, look at me. Is this the way I've always been? Oh no. Oh no." -Passion Pit ("The Reeling")