Just Take a Look Around
Posted on October 14, 2011 | posted by:
I’ve noticed that over the weeks that I’ve been submersed in the fast-paced – at times jaw dropping – life of New York City that many people, and increasingly so my self, navigate their days by keeping their eyes down – either to avoid awkward eye contact or to navigate the potential “stuff on your shoe.” It becomes increasingly evident to me when I have a break-through moment or idea. This life can be beautiful even at it’s most obscene.
The location of many of my insights about the social behaviors of humans in these last six weeks have come in the contextual environment of being a passenger. I’ve seen some low moments (already about four people vomiting on the subway of drunkenness or other blights), I’ve seen learning opportunities (observing people make mistakes and thusly teaching me what NOT to do), and even a few moments of clarity (when something or someone inspires me to look at things in a new way).
One night a couple of weeks ago I was riding the subway, on this particular night my mind was burdened with an assignment that I’d been given. We were tasked to diagram a system – of which I instantly began plugging into my trusty notebook about the system of production and consumption. After getting almost to completion on this project I began to feel that it was banal. That I’d seen this work done before, and that it wasn’t particularly interesting in anyway.
Seated across the subway car from a young mother and her toddler I began to drift off into contemplation as I observed their interactions. I noticed that many people around me on the subway were displaying objections in their countenances to the way that she was responding to her child’s behavior. For moments I contemplated intervening to offer her a piece of gum (for the child) because he seemed to be thirsty. However, I did not feel that it would be well received in that moment judging the intensity of the mother’s frustration – so I continued to observe.
I removed my notebook from my backpack and began to notate what I was observing to quell the desire to interfere (where I was likely not welcome to do so). What evolved in the course of that ten minute observation was to become my project at the time of submission. That short ride became invaluable to me as it filled me with the desire to understand a problem. Did I intervene? No, I did not. However, I did have the pleasure of watching as the interaction between mother and child evolved from one that may have been viewed as deplorable to a display of reverent warmth (which definitely informed the system diagram in a valuable way).
If I’ve learned one thing thus far in my journey – there is a wealth of knowledge surrounding us. When there are moments that the chatter and static of sensory overload breaks in this city it can open up before you to reveal new and interesting things. Perhaps that is why this city is perceived as a place of greatness and as a valuable source of diversity (in many ways).
by Rashid Owoyele
To view the system diagram described above please follow this link:
http://prezi.com/lcewsoylbq5j/motherchild-system-diagram-transd-seminar/