Tuesday, July 29, 2008
The "Right" of Passage
There is an entire concept in the US called a rite of passage. A rite of passage is about experiencing the world and discovering yourself in order to become a man. The concept, I feel, applies more to men than to women. For many Americans this rite of passage is living in New York City. Every year hundreds of thousands of young college graduates move to this beautiful city to discover who they are. I'm back in this amazing city for a couple of days... work conference. I find it so easy to get "lost" in this massive city. It's ironic that most people come here to find themselves. My perspective leans me towards small towns as better place to figure out who you are. It's much harder to hide your true nature in a place where people know you. I've been walking up and down the streets of this city forgetting who I am and what my goals are... No one knows me here, I can be anyone I want to be.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
Not sure if you meant it as a play on words, but its actually rite of passage. A Right of passage may be an democratic concept though given their propensity for foreign travel it'd be more Canadian than American.
To find direction one must truly be lost. Your parents set you on a path which you may or may not diligently follow. You may choose this path to be your own carrying on your upbringing or as you alluded to, some go to a place like NYC to find their own path.
The Capital of the World is a great place to explore all the different paths there are in the world. Its the only place where a billionaire lives in the same city block as a bum.
No one actually finds themselves in NYC. Think back to your college days when you once played beer baseball. Think of NYC as the time you spun around the bat and chugged a beer in order to disorient yourself and stumble. When you got out of the fog, there was clarity and direction.
Thats what NYC represents... Now go eat some thai food.
Thanks for the correction! I totally misspelled that. I knew that moment of beer baseball would define my life :) Disoriented...
One of the most interesting aspects of American life is to give new names to age old concepts practiced in older cultures. To discover oneself is a spiritual experience and one needs isolation rather than a crowd. It has been practiced by some of the most enlightened personalities in India including Swami Vivekanand in more recent times.
The concept of going to a crowded place is symbolised by Kumbh Mela which comes in cycles of 6 years and also 12 years. According to recent estimates the number of people gathering in one place is several millions. In such a big crowd some persons make an attempt to lose their identity. There are groups of Sadhu who get themselves intoxicated by marijuana. Some of thses persons come back to their senses after sometime but quite a few join the sadhus for the rest of their life.
I am not able to comprehend the lessons that one learns from NYC
Post a Comment