Philosophical Thursday….

On this rather dull July afternoon I find myself feeling the urge to provide some social commentary on life in general and more specifically on the way we interact with those around us. What makes an acquaintance a friend, what does it take to be comfortable when speaking your mind to a work colleague and why is it that we will sometimes deliberately avoid a conversation because we have already decided in our head that the conversation will be an awkward or boring one?

Today when I went out for my lunch I saw several of my work colleagues out on the high street, one was on the phone, another heading down the road with her eyes firmly fixed on the pavement and so on. It is strange as these people are a major part of my life. For five days a week I sit in close proximity with every one of them and, to be fair, know very little about the majority of them on a personal level. Is this because I feel a need to keep my work life separate from my personal one or is that I do not feel the compulsion to get to know people just because I spend a lot of time with them?

The OzBus provides a similar situation, I will be spending 24/7 with a large group of people who may have nothing more in common than a desire to travel the world and do it in a slightly quirky way. By the end of the trip there are bound to be groups within the group, a few raised voices and hurt feelings seem inventible but what would happen if at some point in the future I passed one of my bus mates on the street? Would I pretend to be on the phone, would I be staring at the street in my own little world and miss them completely, would I cross the street quick and hope they didn’t see me or would I shout out a greeting and catch up over a quick beer? I would like to think that I will come out of the whole experience with some firm friendships and that our shared experience will form a real bond between us all but I suppose only time will tell. The people I have met so far, one in person and a couple through the ever addictive world of Facebook have seemed to be a very nice bunch but having lived in shared houses for many years I know first hand that until you live with someone you never really know them…