My friends know me, the person ... with or without 'the projects'.But most other people, whenever they see me (especially after not having seen me for a long time), say: "So ... what project are you working on now?" or "So ... what's your latest project?" or "So ... I saw such and such that you did. Are you working on any other exciting projects now?" or "So ... I saw you in the papers and on TV. What's that project you're working on now?"
Maybe some of them are genuinely interested in knowing. Maybe some of them don't know what else to ask or say to me. Maybe they are filling a space. Maybe people only feel comfortable asking about what they think they already know. They know that I am 'a multimedia artist' and I am prolific, always doing 'something'. Perhaps it appears that my life is a long series of projects.
Or is it that life itself is one long project?
The what-project-are-you-working-on-now question is one I sometimes dread. There are times when I just give simple, automatic answers: "Oh, this and that" ... or "Nothing much, really" ... or "Lots of different things" ... or "The usual." Don't get me wrong. I'm very thankful and very moved when someone feels and understands what I am doing, but very rarely do I go on at length about 'what I'm working on' unless I sense that the person is genuinely interested.
The other day someone asked me what project I am working on and I said: "Myself."
What would it be like if people met me after not having seen me for a long time ... or even met me for the first time ... and asked me about me? Not about things, not about work, not about projects, but about me ... the person.
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4 comments:
'deeeeeeeep', i thought, 'as an ocean'
and i remembered once i compared you to the ocean...
millions are swimming, sailing and surfing on its surface...
just a few go diving....
im workin on project 'Angie'
...i hope one day i can fly my 'flag'as proud as som ple i knw
Oh ha!
I don't believe people really want to know the answer to the question, its just a stop gap. Even asking "how are you?" they really aren't that interested, its just the polite thing to do, when I ask I am genuinely interested though and forget that its not the same with others.
Ironically I was mulling over the 'how are you' question this morning ... the fact that people generally just ask it because they're supposed to - but they don't often really care about listening for the answer. As a result even the answers to that question are habitual, custom-made or polite rather than honest.
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