Sentient Beings

Just watch.



Still think hunting for sport is cool?

Me neither.

Automaton

An automaton (plural: automata or automatons) is a self-operating machine. The word is sometimes used to describe a robot, more specifically an autonomous robot. Used colloquially, it refers to a mindless follower.

I remember the first time I heard the word "automaton"- it was a line of dialogue in the movie "Clerks". The dialogue was meant as an impetuous snear toward the great faceless masses. the nameless corporate "them" that were subject of disdain. I remember thinking how I identified with that.

Last night I had a revelation that caused me to think about that word again. I was passing through the revolving door to the train station and I noticed a man of about my age, and build who was dressed very similar to me. It struck me odd, and shook me out of my post work walking coma for long enough that I began observing the people around me. Between that revolving door, and my train ride home I spotted 9 other people wearing Khakis, and a Black NorthFace jacket. If I opened up the sampling to just include the same color combination of Tan Pants, Black Jacket, then I saw 28 others dressed just like me. I started to think about that.

Sure, it is true that Black, and Tan are popular colors in the world of business casual dress, but beyond that- I started to believe that I had become "one of the crowd". I never viewed myself that way before. I always thought that in some way I was outstanding, or dare I say- "better" when compared to the others around me.

As I looked around I couldn't help but wonder what the lives of these similarly dressed people were like. Did the guy standing in line in front of me have a family at home waiting for him? did he have a new baby on the way like I do? What will he do when he gets home? Where is he coming from? Is there anyone else standing in this line at this moment thinking about these things?

The end result was that I found myself looking at peoples faces. Thankfully I was doing this from behind the darkened lenses of my sunglasses- nobody like to think someone is watching them. As I sat on the train I looked at all the people who were sitting on the opposite side of the train.

I took inventory of each of them. Were they reading? What were they reading? What were they listening to on those earphones? I recognized the subtle differences in each person. Suddenly I realized that I wasn't part of the crowd anymore.

The truth be told- there was no crowd. There was a mass of individuals, each with their own purpose for being, their own individual tastes, likes, and dislikes.