Introverts Unite!

I saw this pic on reddit a few weeks back.  (reddit post link)

 

 

Reading the captions made me giggle.  Thinking of how silly introverts are.  Uniting separately in their own homes.  Hehe.

The humor slowly faded when I realized that I am also an introvert.

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Introverts + Strangers

As an introvert, I see social gatherings as a challenge.  It takes tremendous willpower, courage, and motivation to get me to go somewhere with a bunch of strangers.  Especially if the expectation at the event is that you should mingle with everyone there.

The way I feel about meeting strangers is similar to people’s mindset when dealing with someone who has the plague.  There is a distaste in your mouth.  Your stomach feels queasy.  You try to keep a distance from them.

With the plague, people have a good reason to act like this.  But with an introvert like myself, what am I so afraid of catching?

If anything, I might catch their infectious enthusiasm, humor, or wisdom.  There’s plenty of awesome people out there who I have yet to meet.

Yet when I’m at an event I always revert to my introverted self.

Perhaps I’m afraid of what people may think of me once we start talking.  At least if I keep to myself, I’ll always be a mystery to them.

Perhaps I have a limit on how many relationships I can juggle at once.  With more people, even if they are just acquaintances, it overburdens my emotional capacity.  Since I’m an introvert and only have a few quality relationships, I go out of my way to protect those few that I do have.  I know how hard it would be to find another one.  So I push others away, to ensure the health of my current relationships.

Perhaps I am a control freak when it comes to my personal space.  At home, I can re-arrange things how I like it.  Everything is predictable when I’m by myself.  Out there, not so much.  I have less control in the real world.  People tend to do things that I least expect.  And I find that extremely intimidating.

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Introverts + Family & Friends

I don’t really mind going to places where I know most of the people there like family get-togethers or parties with friends.

Movie Reflections: Looper

(***Contains spoilers to the movie.)

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From watching the movie Looper, I gather one common theme.

Everyone is willing to kill someone else, in order for someone they love.

Bruce Willis is willing to kill 3 different kids in order to protect his love.

The Rainmaker is willing to kill all loopers in order to avenge his mother’s death.

Joseph Gordon-Lovett is willing to kill Bruce Willis in order to protect himself.

Everyone is out to get someone.

This common trend changes in the end.

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Joseph Gordon-Lovett plays present day Joe.

Bruce Willis plays 30 years in the future Joe.

If Bruce Willis dies, it means Joseph Gordon-Lovett will also die in 30 years.

But if Joseph Gordon-Lovett dies, it means Bruce Willis will immediately cease to exist.

With no present day Joe alive, there is no one to age 30 years into the future.

Willis cannot kill Gordon-Lovett, but Gordon-Lovett can kill Willis.

And he does kill Willis, but without really doing anything to Willis.

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In the future, there exists a horrible being called the Rainmaker.

The Rainmaker is responsible for destroying the world and ruling over it with violence.

Bruce Willis goes back in time to kill the Rainmaker while he is still small and vulnerable.

Bruce Willis wishes to prevent the Rainmaker from killing his wife who dies in the future.

Joseph Gordon-Lovett quickly befriends the child Rainmaker.

Soon, we find out why the child is called Rainmaker.

He can make other human beings explode leaving a rain a blood that showers the earth.

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Towards the end of the movie, Bruce Willis catches up to the child Rainmaker.

Bruce Willis is ready to kill the kid, but the Rainmaker’s mother is standing in the way.

She yells for the kid to run away while she blocks the path of the gun shot.

Joseph Gordon-Lovett runs to scene only to helplessly witness this from afar.

Suddenly, he see’s the cycle of deaths.

He see’s Bruce Willis killing the Rainmaker’s mother.

He see’s the Rainmaker escaping, hurt and bitter.

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He see’s the Rainmaker growing up and taking out his anger on the whole world.

He see’s the Rainmaker once again killing Bruce Willis’s wife.

He see’s Bruce Willis once again going back in time to kill the child Rainmaker again.

Joseph Gordon-Lovett see’s how futile Bruce Willis’ actions are.

Bruce Willis’ action to kill the Rainmaker causes the Rainmaker grows without a mother.

He will grow into a vengeful, hateful being with a uncontrollable power.

Bruce Willis’ need to kill someone, ensures that someone will eventually kill his wife.

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If you spread hate, hate will one day come back for you.

If you kill someone to protect your own, someday someone will kill someone you cherish to protect their own.

How can you blame them for doing the exact same thing you did?

Joseph Gordon-Lovett realized this just before Bruce Willis was going to shoot the mother.

He realized the only way to prevent a chaotic future, was to stop the cycle of hate and violence.

He took the gun in his hand, spun it around so that it pointed at his own heart.

And he squeezed the trigger, ending his own life.

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He knew he couldn’t stop Bruce Willis in time, but he knew if he died his future self would also die.

By killing himself, he made sure that Bruce Willis could not exist anymore.

Everyone is always busy trying to kill someone else to protect the one they love.

Rarely does anyone see that the problem perhaps could exist within oneself.

And even rarer is to find someone willing to sacrifice himself for the good of others.

Joseph Gordon-Lovett made this decision at the end of the movie.

He ensured the Rainmaker’s mother would live to raise the child with plenty of love.

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Most of us seek to solve problems by putting the blame on others.

You despise them, you spread rumors, and perhaps even get into verbal and physical conflict with them.

You end up creating bad karma, that one day will come back for you with a vengeance.

I believe that all the solutions to our problems can be found by looking inside instead of outside.

By looking inside, we then focus on the one thing we do have control over.

Perhaps then we would be able to sacrifice a part of ourselves for the benefit of others.

In every moment, you can choose to be like Bruce Willis or Joseph Gordon-Lovett.