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Literate Chaotic / It's just you
« on: November 19, 2023, 05:07:27 pm »
Everyone is haunted by ghosts only they can see.
They're with us from infancy, wandering, lurking, following.
Even before we learn to speak, we learn they are not part of the common experience. No one else sees them, hears them, smells them, feels them. Language can only be used to convey concepts we have in common; what only one person can perceive, can have no meaningful name.
We form blindspots. No-one else sees them, so they're not there. This isn't mere disbelief, but a strong and unshakeable belief in non-existence. Sometimes it takes a little longer to develop, and the adults laugh and say we have an "imaginary friend", and that we'll grow out of it. And to be fair, sometimes it is an imaginary friend...and sometimes, it's neither imaginary, nor friend. But we always learn. We must.
They're opaque. They're with you even now. When you're driving and a car comes out of nowhere; maybe your attention lapsed...or maybe there was a ghost blocking your view, and you simply couldn't see it, or the vehicle behind it.
You bump into a chair. You stub your toe.
Maybe you misjudged your path...or maybe you were subconsciously side-stepping to avoid the ghost only you can see.
They're with us from infancy, wandering, lurking, following.
Even before we learn to speak, we learn they are not part of the common experience. No one else sees them, hears them, smells them, feels them. Language can only be used to convey concepts we have in common; what only one person can perceive, can have no meaningful name.
We form blindspots. No-one else sees them, so they're not there. This isn't mere disbelief, but a strong and unshakeable belief in non-existence. Sometimes it takes a little longer to develop, and the adults laugh and say we have an "imaginary friend", and that we'll grow out of it. And to be fair, sometimes it is an imaginary friend...and sometimes, it's neither imaginary, nor friend. But we always learn. We must.
They're opaque. They're with you even now. When you're driving and a car comes out of nowhere; maybe your attention lapsed...or maybe there was a ghost blocking your view, and you simply couldn't see it, or the vehicle behind it.
You bump into a chair. You stub your toe.
Maybe you misjudged your path...or maybe you were subconsciously side-stepping to avoid the ghost only you can see.