Driving back to Key West from Marathon Thursday night, I found myself thinking about perception. To set the scene for those of you who have never driven US 1 at night, there are no lights. It's pitch black, with only the headlights of the cars on the road by which to see. I could barely see thirty yards ahead of me. It's hard to maintain focus because your mind just wants to drift.
While I was driving, I thought about how much of what we are is defined by other people's perception of us. It's that old philosophical question, if a tree falls in the forest, but there's no one around, does it make a sound? Do we exist because we are perceived? Is a person funny because other people perceive him to be funny? Or is there a universal constant establishing humor? Am I funny? Obviously, I think I can be hilarious, but, if no one laughs at my jokes, does that mean there's something unfunny about me or about them? Is there a fundamental standard of kindness, or is kindness only present in the eye of the beholder? Who decides?
These are the kinds of things I think about when it's dark, I'm alone, and I'm driving.
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