Monday, August 25, 2008

The Fourth Wall

If real life were like the audience of a television sitcom, we’d have it a lot easier. The television audience gets to listen in to all the important conversations about the characters on the show, and so they know why Bob scowled at Sally or why George was two hours late picking up Susan from the airport or why Molly is furious with Henry but won’t say.

They get the whole picture. Whereas, sitcom characters and real life people have to make decisions based on hunches, suspicions, gleanings and sometimes absolute daring. Sometimes we soar like eagles, having guessed correctly. Sometimes we fall into a big, steaming, stinking pit of sh -- er, pig manure.

It is so difficult to go through life knowing that, while you are utterly unimportant to the majority of people outside of your house, office and local haunts, that people within those places are having discussions about you that you will never hear. Your life can go from normal to sheer hell based on those conversations to which you are not privy.

5 comments:

Anna said...

I lived in the hell that gossip created for two years, and then I quit my job. I'm much happier without the drama.

Chase March said...

Most of the discussions that involve you, don't really involve you. There's no sense even worrying about it.

People will always talk and sometimes you are the topic of conversation.

I just make it a point to steer clear of gossip. I don't participate it in at all. This kind of stuff isn't healthy for anyone, IMHO.

Janice Thomson said...

Reminds me of Socrates Three Filter Test - more people should use it.

Anonymous said...

I finally got fed up with gossip and just avoid it when I can. Although I love a deep conversation with a friend about relationships - I don't think that counts as gossip, does it?

molly said...

We can only guess! I agree, life would be so much tidier. But sit-coms only have half an hour for each drama, from start, to agony, to finish, whereas, our real life dramas can drag on for years---just because we're in the dark about so much of the script!