The Mystery Train: Inspiration
The idea behind this project and blog came into being from two primary inspirations:
1. An article that appeared in an issue of Adbusters Magazine a few years ago, discussing the details of meeting people, and how often when tested, people upon meeting and talking with strangers, will indicate an increase in how they rate their happiness on a 1-to-10 scale.
2. Through my studies of philosophy and other subjects, I have come to a vague realisation that most of the world is a construction of the mind; such as etiquettes, social rules, laws, time structures, predictions, expectations etc.
Having such a realisation has lead to another: that if we live in a predominantly unreal world, then the most important things are the real, simple and most basic of things; which I personally believe to be other people, relationships and friendships.
Thus, I am meeting people: approximately aiming to meet 5 new people per week. The process of meeting is both be orchestrated, and organic. What I mean by this, is that I meet people where I happen to be - people that are incidental to a situation - for example, I might meet someone I sit next to on a train. An orchestrated meetings are when I go out of my way to meet specific people.
While I am meeting people, I am keeping a blog of who I am meeting, writing a story about them (either short fiction inspired by them, which is indicated) or their story, or the story of meeting them (non-fiction). The blog describes the where/when/how or the meeting itself.
This is a challenge to the unreal world, my own shyness and the taboos of social rules.
All we've ever had is each other.