Suits

At the risk of sounding cliched, magic is everywhere! Yeah! Groovy! Far-out!

Erhm.

It used to be that the things we take for granted these days or find ordinary (for the most part), were once considered magic. Fire, photography, medicine, death, etc, you get the point.

Despite not being a child anymore, I sometimes catch myself being fascinated by stuff around me the same way I would if I was one (the times I don't catch myself I'm just completely engrossed in whatever is fascinating me that I can't put myself outside it). Some may say it's unhealthy and that's fine, they're entitled to their opinion as long as they don't start causing trouble for others.

And then there are those who would argue that retaining some child-like sense of curiosity and wonderment is actually a boon. I would definitely agree with these because an active imagination (or one that doesn't completely suck / isn't completely buried by scars of time and the sands of age) helps come up with solutions to problems, helps create new ideas and so forth. You get the point.

I don't mean that everyone should actually behave like a child. No, society being the way it is sets certain expectations for a reason- so everyone can progress. I'd like to believe that this is the case though it probably isn't. Still, it's a nice thought.

But since we are expected to do something a certain way, in order to progress, you have to roll with the punches thrown at you. Part of that includes wearing a suit and carrying a briefcase if your line of work requires it. And putting away your propeller hat and slingshot.

I say suit because for me that has always been the ultimate sign (in the 20th and 21st centuries) of adulthood and being fully grown up. In the sense that after that, there's really no turning back: that necktie might as well be a noose and the suit a straitjacket. And really, all those people in business suits all look the same to me. Yes, there are some differences but more often than not, they all look the same despite boasting brand X and Y with adjective+color.

So, yes. I equate suits with the end of one's colorful personal identity that has set one apart from others. To some degree.

I've also seen those people in suits as having an incredible amount of pressure placed on them, paired with the levels of maturity and seriousness that go with that. High stress, high tension, high stakes. Hi, steaks! Clearly, no room to mess around, right? But many times, those suits have to make decisions that affect not only them but their companies and the (comparatively) common person. And then of course there comes the backlash over poor decisions and such.

Let's not even get started on how suits have been synonymous with some sort of doom and gloom type authority figure that wrecks everything and must be stopped (read: suits = "The Man").

So, a suit is the end.

The preceding paragraphs kind of sound like something a child would say. You'll also notice that I started talking about magic and didn't actually go anywhere with it.

Or did I?

I still find suits interesting, though I'm not a big fan of wearing one. Not necessarily because of that whole suits are the end thing but for reasons I won't discuss right now (another story for another time). What is interesting to me about them is the world that they are a part of. Business, responsibility, wondering how they can stand the pressure and responsibility of whatever it is they do.

I remember meeting up with a man who works for the city. I remember being being terrified and fascinated by the work he does and the responsibility. Terrified because his works affects a lot of people in very profound ways and any errors can cause a train-wreck of sorts. He isn't affiliated with any transportation department or the like, I was using train-wreck in a metaphorical way. I was fascinated for the same reason: his decisions really do have a widespread effect on a lot of people.

I realize that the sort of magic I saw in his job was filtered by a more adult/grown-up way of thinking. Still, I found his work interesting but too daunting to ever pursue something like that for myself. Of course, this also has to do with the fact that since I am very critical of my work and of myself, that if I were in that position of power, I wouldn't get much done as I would spend most of the time writing run-on sentences and being extremely dissatisfied with my decisions and thought process, dismissing them as inadequate and dreadful. The one area where a child-like sense of awe will not help much.

Still, one can't help but be moved (metaphorically) by the world in at least a slight degree as everything has the capacity to stun and mesmerize and make one's eyes widen with fascination. Make you feel 2 feet tall again looking up at everything and wondering how things work.

I still do that, though I'm much much much taller than 2 feet.