other's realities

So often I get caught up in my own world that I forget that there are other folks' versions of reality playing out every second of every day - 24/7/365. Today I experienced an almost surreal reminder of the existence of other's realities during the Hash.

I spent two hours throwing blue flour on the ground, aka 'setting trail', for my fellow Hashers to follow. I was not excited at the prospect of revisiting the trail for a third time in two days (having scouted the trail Saturday and set the trail Sunday) in order to run the trail. But I didn't have to. It wasn't my trail to run; it had been my trail to set.

So, while 16 people puzzled their way through my blue flour markings (some following the markings more accurately than others), I drove around in my car in order to arrive at designated points before them with the all-important beer.

They were cold; I was warm. They were on foot; I had my foot on the gas pedal. They didn't know where they were going; I had a pretty good map in my mind's eye of their trajectory (except for the ones that got 'lost'). We were occupying the same moments in time in completely different ways.

I particularly enjoy thinking about this concept of other's realities with a larger focus, as summarized by this quote:

The world in which you were born is just one model of reality.
Other cultures are not failed attempts at being you; they are unique manifestations of the human spirit.
- Wade Davis*, anthropologist

He has an interesting TED talk that can be found here.