London - The crocodile city.
Tough skinned, vicious, will eat you up alive if you let it, yet we are all fascinated by it.
Before getting off the phone to my father, in tears, a little less than 2 months ago, I was offered the advice (or harsh reality) "to get a thicker skin".
London seems to be all about this. Amongst the hustle and bustle of everyone trying to make a living wage and then some, we tread on anyone we possibly can to earn a few more pounds, to get a little more status, to fight for more success.
At dinner yesterday, a good friend said to me, he would have no hesitation stamping on the people he liked to be more successful.
I was confused that this was coming out of this lovely man's mouth.
Is this just the London way?
We have no problem hurting peoples feelings, being blunt is second nature and the ever far from candid, apologetic British way seizes to exist in this city. Much like in old people.
I'm sad because deep down, I know in London you either sink or swim. For me, personally, i am very much treading water furiously.
I love to write, but as an amateur, it doesn't pay all my bills.
Will i get to the stage where i pummel the weaker to become stronger? Why is this so socially accepted?
I had time to reflect, concerned I was just naive and thought of the world as something that should be fluffy marshmallow eating unicorns, prancing about in the sun.
But, i'm not.
There are so many cultural differences in comparison to London. Here, we are so surprised at "having our faith restored in human kind". For example, if someone gives the homeless some change or a sandwich and the like.
We are so shocked at compassion.
I am the girl that will help.
I will write you a text on the tube to tell you your fancy dress outfit is well good and trust you with my phone to read it.
I will give you a smoke and not take your 50p for it.
I will give you change if i have it and you are short.
I will tell you you are doing great at your job after someone has just yelled at you about something out of your control.
Am I bragging about being an alright person?
No.
Am I afraid London might rip it out of me in survival of the fittest?
Maybe.
To me, everyone is the same. Thick skin or not. We are all the same underneath.
Business man, the queen, someone who doesn't have a home, someone who is in debt, a pop star...
They will all have wanted a hug at one point in their life. They will all have needed to smile. They will all have been vulnerable, scared, lost and lonely, and most importantly, they will have all wanted love and security.
Whilst from an evolutionary stand point we are programmed 1) to want to survive, we are also 2) programmed to love.
The difference is we are biologically smarter than ever (biologically being the key word there)
So why are we still picking the first one?
Before getting off the phone to my father, in tears, a little less than 2 months ago, I was offered the advice (or harsh reality) "to get a thicker skin".
London seems to be all about this. Amongst the hustle and bustle of everyone trying to make a living wage and then some, we tread on anyone we possibly can to earn a few more pounds, to get a little more status, to fight for more success.
At dinner yesterday, a good friend said to me, he would have no hesitation stamping on the people he liked to be more successful.
I was confused that this was coming out of this lovely man's mouth.
Is this just the London way?
We have no problem hurting peoples feelings, being blunt is second nature and the ever far from candid, apologetic British way seizes to exist in this city. Much like in old people.
I'm sad because deep down, I know in London you either sink or swim. For me, personally, i am very much treading water furiously.
I love to write, but as an amateur, it doesn't pay all my bills.
Will i get to the stage where i pummel the weaker to become stronger? Why is this so socially accepted?
I had time to reflect, concerned I was just naive and thought of the world as something that should be fluffy marshmallow eating unicorns, prancing about in the sun.
But, i'm not.
There are so many cultural differences in comparison to London. Here, we are so surprised at "having our faith restored in human kind". For example, if someone gives the homeless some change or a sandwich and the like.
We are so shocked at compassion.
I am the girl that will help.
I will write you a text on the tube to tell you your fancy dress outfit is well good and trust you with my phone to read it.
I will give you a smoke and not take your 50p for it.
I will give you change if i have it and you are short.
I will tell you you are doing great at your job after someone has just yelled at you about something out of your control.
Am I bragging about being an alright person?
No.
Am I afraid London might rip it out of me in survival of the fittest?
Maybe.
To me, everyone is the same. Thick skin or not. We are all the same underneath.
Business man, the queen, someone who doesn't have a home, someone who is in debt, a pop star...
They will all have wanted a hug at one point in their life. They will all have needed to smile. They will all have been vulnerable, scared, lost and lonely, and most importantly, they will have all wanted love and security.
Whilst from an evolutionary stand point we are programmed 1) to want to survive, we are also 2) programmed to love.
The difference is we are biologically smarter than ever (biologically being the key word there)
So why are we still picking the first one?
Comments
Post a Comment