The Verge
People always say they or we have a fear of the unknown. People use this to explain religion and exploration of the stars and whatnot. I think people like the unknown. I think people crave it. Variety is the spice of life is not only a catchy little phrase but it also is something we’ve all heard and something that indicates we don’t like the day to day routine. There’s something honorable in the routine but there’s nothing fantastic about it is there?
I bring this up, this weird infatuation with the unknown, because it is a huge part of our lives. We love the unknown. And here’s how I know. Music. Movies. Books. Comedy shows that are actually funny. If you or any of your friends run across something of quality you rush to them to share the experience no? Have you seen THE BIG THING yet? It’s fantastic you say. And your friends have seen it too and also think it’s fantastic. And everything’s super. But then the unknown comes and puts it’s foot down. You think that’s something? Everyone joining together enjoying something? You think that’s cool. You don’t know shit. Check this out.
The unknown introduces us to something unique and special... like a snowflake. It’s completely temporary but that just makes the moment all the more worthwhile. Honestly this analogy isn’t that great but I just like the cheesiness of comparing something to a snowflake because it’s something people I hate would do with utmost seriousness and preciousness. So, back to the unknown. The unknown spits on our general satisfaction with THE BIG THING and sells us something else entirely.
THE NEXT BIG THING. Have you heard of this THING? Have you seen it? I saw it at the Turf Club with 6 other people and one of them was just in there to stay out of the bitch ass cold outside. I read an excerpt from this THING online at a coffee bar in Rosedale and it is TREMENDOUS. This NEXT BIG THING will rock your world. I am so happy that I could introduce you to the NEXT BIG THING. And then we can discuss it and love it and share this THING with others and we can warm ourselves in the collective glow of this THING. Of course I’ll be sitting a little closer to the fire. I mean, I saw them first and all. And there is a hierarchy that states that he who sees the THING first is 1% cooler than those that follow all the way down the line.
We’ve all known this for a while now, but let’s face it, we like new music and movies and paintings because we don’t have any guarantees that anything good will come of it. We love not knowing what the future will hold because it allows us to focus entirely on the moment at hand and therefore we get a more visceral experience. I mean, we know what the Rolling Stones are going to do at this point right? We know what to expect and it takes away from the moment when you know that there will be 100 great moments like this in the future. We can focus all of our energy watching Atmosphere and see if they blow up or just rock the house for one night. We don’t know if we’re catching lightning in a bottle or if we’re just watching one little lightning bug in a ditch and there’s miles to go on this country road and many more little shows to see. The unknown is worthy of our love.
