We go about our lives every day not realizing that we are participating in mundane activities of daily living. For example, when you get onto an elevator, you go to an open spot and turn to face the door. What happens when someone doesn’t follow this normal protocol of elevator behavior? Let’s say it’s early morning in a busy office building and someone gets onto an elevator in pajamas, stands by the door in the middle and turns around the face the crowd. Some would ignore this awkward behavior by putting their nose into their electronic devices, newspaper, or paperwork, but others, I have found, get very nervous and even suspicious.
In yet another experiment to study the human reaction to deviant behavior, I took it upon myself to go into a very busy supermarket and sit down in a food aisle to read and study my textbooks. This was not met very friendly by the market manager, but I did get some interesting responses from customers. Now, of course, I did go to a supermarket outside of my home town so I wouldn’t be recognized, but I also made sure I was conspicuously dressed in a rather colorful outfit. Many of the customers greeted me with a smile as they excused themselves around me to get their product. Some even thanked me for making them “wake up and notice something out of the ordinary.” After about 2 hours, I was finally asked by security to vacate the premises on the grounds of disturbance. I felt my work there was done, so I packed up my belongings and headed out happily, purchasing nothing.
Overall, we spend our daily lives walking about this earth unconscious of our own actions because we are just so used to them. I believe it is our responsibility to wake up our consciousness and encounter life with civility and playfulness.
