west in the mind

here at the Nomad Cafe, everybody has laptops. most with headphones. the virtual west, my own California. techtropolis of the mind. gorgeous people float in and out, all of them interesting in that kind of punky alternative North Oakland way.

it strikes me that we are adrift. perhaps it is i that is so. but still if i am adrift then perhaps i can recognize this in others? adrift in our own worlds. what social customs do we share, us all here at the Nomad? drinking coffee and punching keys on the computer is not really what i would call culture. this is the west, the culmination of human liberation. we can choose to be virtual friends and physical strangers. perhaps we are simply sharing in the expression of self. not the big capital S, Self; no we are expressing our little selves. maybe to the chagrin of the big Self? who knows.

adrift from a larger purpose. there is no central point to our lives, here on the edge of America. some may have personal ambitions and dreams, but this is not something that we all really participate in. some social groups like churches and temples are around but these are throwbacks. anybody who is "liberated" doesn't do them.

rather would we look good, express our individuality, "activate" our potential; or repress...

repression, yes that nasty psychological concept used to smear those uptight traditions still clinging around.

let's see...would i rather go to church, listen to a sermon, inspire my soul beyond this world, and mingle with other goodie churchgoers...or would i prefer to dance to booming electro-beats, shaking my ass amidst other gyrating bodies. tatoos, piercings and general sexiness pervading the atmosphere?