Discovery: Brand new babies don’t have a sense of humor. Nor do they care to talk about work. This means I’m fucked.
It’s a wild thing to realize that the very foundation of how and what you communicate with (i.e. about work or with humor) doesn’t work on your present audience. And just maybe…that you’re fucking boring!
It’s like being on a blind date with someone that doesn’t speak the same language.
It’s brutal.
You start realizing that you are limited in your expressive self and that a new version of yourself has to come forward in order to make any progress in that relationship. Having a new baby highlights just that.
He grunts, can’t really see, doesn’t talk, can’t eat ice cream, doesn’t drink, isn’t old enough to work, has zero social awareness (I mean really, he farts and burps whenever he wants!) and quite frankly… he sounds a little like a mix of baby Gizmo and Marcel The Shell. It’s adorable as hell…I just don’t know what any of those noises mean… yet!
I think this is where we, as humans, form a non-verbal bond with the world around us. It starts when we are brand new to the world. We communicate through energy and touch…because that’s all we have.
And even now, writing this, it occurs to me …maybe that’s where we get so lost with one another as we grow older: we forgot how to connect without words. We forgot how to connect to each other with open hearts and loving touch. Without agendas. Without baggage. Without fear.
Maybe I need to be more like my son.
Science has found that humor is learned…not genetic. As early as 6 months old, a baby starts to learn what they find funny. That means that if my son ends up being a humorless prick…I’m going to blame my employees. (Anyone who manages a staff knows exactly what I’m referring to.)
Another “good to know” fact, while we’re on the topic: babies give shitty business advice anyhow.