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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To ask for weird realisations you’ve had about life?

1008 replies

goergia · 13/04/2022 23:49

Things about mundane life that you’ve never given much thought but suddenly think “Now I think about it, that’s weird.”

I had one of these today. I live in a mid-terrace, neighbours are nice and quiet and we don’t hear a peep. A few days ago I had a snoop at one of the next-door neighbour’s house on Rightmove after seeing it was for sale, and realised that they have their bed right up against our party wall as I do mine. So even though I sleep in bed alone every night, there’s actually 2 people who I don’t really know just a couple of inches away from me! I don’t know why but for some reason it creeps me out. I’ve realised that in terraced houses you’re actually sharing one building with lots of people, many of whom you will NEVER interact with.

OP posts:
lameasahorse · 18/04/2022 12:42

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NervousFlyer2022 · 18/04/2022 12:54

Thirty years before I was born in the 70s WW2 was still going. 30 years from today Kylie was in the charts. WW2 seemed to be such ancient history to me as a child but it was actually so recent. It still is. Plenty of people alive today who remember it.

I also find it mind-blowing how Germany redeemed itself so quickly on the world stage after instigating absolute genocide - how the government is top table in all world forums and are respectable peaceable world leaders now after such horrors. How things change.

Biscuitsareme · 18/04/2022 13:19

I've thought that too, @NervousFlyer2022

Also, re religion, I remember being 10 or so and reading a book on Greek mythology for children. Suddenly it hit me that the ancient Greeks probably believed that all those stories were true, just as I then believed in a Christian God, Christ dying on the cross etc. It fundamentally changed my view on religion. I think religious belief systems are fascinating in a cultural sense and tell us something profound about human nature, but I can't quite get how anyone can believe their religion, or ideology for that matter, is the only truth. I guess I had a Sonder moment of other belief systems rather than other people's lives 😊

TheBigDilemma · 18/04/2022 13:29

@forlornlorna

A realisation really hit me this year. I have a life limiting illness that is progressing faster than expected. It's the realisation that I won't be able to end my life in the final months even though I'll be in pain, unable to swallow or ...well anything really. And that people will do everything possible to keep me alive when I'm dying. Like why? Why do we let humans die long drawn out inevitable deaths but we allow animals to be put to sleep if they are suffering.
That’s one I struggle with… I can’t understand why we sustain the life of our elders when the quality of life is gone, they are tired or no longer able to communicate with us? Why can’t we be allowed to die of a nice cold instead of keeping us alive for years through Alzheimer’s at a high cost for our families and plenty of pain to ourselves? What’s the point and why are we not allowed to make our own decisions when there is no way back?
HelloBunny · 18/04/2022 14:06

lameasahorse, it’s true. I once worked at the front desk in an office. Important documents would arrive urgently by courier all the time. Massive legal papers, banking agreements etc... I always assumed that the big bosses must know what they contained. But no, they just signed them & sent them back. They actually had more brass necks than big brains...

IamtheDevilsAvocado · 18/04/2022 16:04

@Tulipblacksmith

I’ve worked with sex offenders who aren’t allowed out without anyone assisting them due to the likelihood they would offend.

I always found that a surreal feeling. Walking around and everything just being perfectly normal. I dunno…. It’s just like walking around knowing a secret that all the other strangers around you don’t know. Especially when said sex offender starts nicely chatting to people.

Used to make me feel strange.

Yup... It's a really strange feeling isn't it...

You're constantly watchful... at the same time thinking... You wouldn't be so nice to this 'sweet old man' if you knew what we know...

Most serious offenders are perfectly 'normal' most of the time... It's just the time that they're plotting and offending... Confused

lameasahorse · 18/04/2022 16:59

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lameasahorse · 18/04/2022 17:00

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iloveeverykindofcat · 18/04/2022 17:32

Most serious offenders are perfectly 'normal' most of the time... It's just the time that they're plotting and offending.

I used to have a colleague (well, sort of colleague - different but neighbouring department) who had interviewed several serial killers in prison. He said the idea that they're all charismatic psychopathic geniuses is totally fake. They're mostly average looking, averagely intelligent middle aged white males with extremely damaged worldviews who are thoroughly depressing to talk to.

Heresme33 · 18/04/2022 18:00

:26CircusBaby

It's not really a realisation just something that stumps me sometimes, and something I've thought since I was a kid. That it feels like time doesn't actually pass and it's all just the same day. You go to bed, you wake up, rinse and repeat. But it's actually just the same day over and over and over for infinity..

Omg circus baby i have always said this thought it was just me!

EyeBagsAndEyeRolls · 18/04/2022 20:56

Lying has always boggled me, more when someone didn’t believe me and I was telling the truth. Like, why can’t you just crawl into my brain and see for yourself!

AllisoninWunderland · 18/04/2022 23:24

@Xtraincome do it! There are more and more people taking their children out of the system daily in this country because it’s so unfit for purpose.
I’ve never regretted it once. The joy and freedom it brings is unbelievable. I’m an ex teacher too and unlearning everything (almost) that i was told to believe in school.

Neverendingmindfuck · 19/04/2022 07:47

I have often wondered if all the people I have interacted with in my life ever think of me or remember me.
Lovers, friends I lost touch with, abusers.
There are some people I remember distinctly, some are fuzzy picture and some I know there is just a knowing some sort of meeting happened but specifics are sketchy.
Im often thinking of a person and then they call, how does that happen? Too often for coincidence (imo)

I moved from one end of the country to the other.
When I allowed myself to think about the distance I would feel a sense of falling.

How do small tablets fix medical problems? Headaches, blood sugar, severe pain, epilepsy etc.
I know that they don't 'cure' necessarily but the treat these conditions and many more. Teeny tiny pills. 😱

SirChenjins · 19/04/2022 09:29

I have often wondered if all the people I have interacted with in my life ever think of me or remember me

YY to this. I often wonder what memories they have of me as they will remember things differently from me and will remember events that I've forgotten. Sam Hunt's song '23' sums this up for me - that no matter where we go in life I'll always be 23 with that person.

EyeBagsAndEyeRolls · 19/04/2022 09:54

It’s been said on here before about living in a house (especially terraced) and living out lives literally inches away from one another.

I think something similar when driving and stuck in traffic, especially the motorway. There’s so many people sat around you but we’re all just facing forward in silence 😳

iloveeverykindofcat · 19/04/2022 14:47

I have often wondered if all the people I have interacted with in my life ever think of me or remember me.

I mostly wonder what happened to the unfortunate people I've tried to give directions to.

DancinOnTheCeiling · 19/04/2022 23:08

@PurpleNebula84

Maybe not quite the thing you're after, but I always wonder how things like bread evolved - I mean who sat there and thought "if I crush the grain from this grass, I'll get this white stuff. I can mix it with water, put a bit of this manky looking fungus in it, and it will make it puff up and then I can put it in/on the fire and it will make something really tasty." I do understand the process evolved over time and wasn't just one person - it just amazes me.
@PurpleNebula84 that’s EXACTLY what I’ve wondered about... it seems so random doesn’t it?
PassThePringles · 19/04/2022 23:23

Loving this thread!!
Deja vu. I used to have this happen regularly when I was younger. When I was a teen, I was telling my best friend about a dream I had the night before. About how we were walking along a particular road, talking about a specific thing. I can't remember exactly now but there were four things I mentioned. Around a year later, we were walking along that same road, having the exact conversation I'd dreamt when I remembered and asked if she remembered me telling her about it! She did and it felt so good to have some validation as no one ever believed me 🤣

What would some people achieve if they didn't have the confidence/self esteem drained out of them from bullies/abusive others. Maybe we could have cured cancer by now had someone nurtured a child enough, or someone allowed the child to be happy and confident in themselves to become something that changes the world for the better.

That the ones in power operate the world as they do.

I've been depressed before. I didn't want to have anti-depressants as they keep you mellow, stops the lows but also the highs. Why isn't there a Seratonin or 'happy pill' available to take like a vitamin... Although writing this, I may be wrong but isn't that the effects cocaine has on someone 😳

All those people born in third world countries. As a child I asked my DM why do they keep having babies if they can't feed or clothe them. She said because they deserve to be happy and love someone too (words to that effect) but as an adult, I've read that alot of it is due to rape/lack of education/contraception etc. So I don't understand why there isn't a mass effort in certain countries to fix the problems they have now and hold off on reproducing until they have a more stable environment in which to raise children, for a better future.

Why isn't mental health taught at school? I've never needed half the things I was taught but I felt suicidal alot but hid it well. I thought I was the only one who felt that way. I also thought there'd be easily accessible psychiatrists who'd help when I was older but... I've learned to help myself. We've made great leaps in science and psychology yet so many are being neglected. I don't understand why.

Why did Cadbury have to change hands around ten years ago. That used to be the best tasting chocolate ever... Yet now it's meh. I want the old recipe back!

Does anyone else with kids ever just look at them, mine are teenagers now... Like one day it was just me, then suddenly there was a baby who needed constant care... Now I have these young adults in my house and have i really spent 13+ years with these individuals when I only feel like an 18 year old myself still... They're amazing and I feel so much pressure to make sure they have some ambition and self esteem while hiding the fact that I have none myself.

How are sea shells formed? I know I can Google but I wonder this everytime I'm on the shore.

Why do nice people struggle to make friends when not so nice people seem to do it easy?

How, before travelling was a thing, did the ancient civilisations from opposite sides of the world, they'd never met eachother, yet there are wall drawings of what look like the same astronaut type figures? Do ancient aliens exist? Are the Gods all different types of spiritual beings/aliens?

That's enough anyway, sorry for the essay 🤣

Ophanim · 20/04/2022 05:04

I think exactly the same way. Also, time having no beginning. How is that possible? HOW?!

Ophanim · 20/04/2022 05:05

Ophanim · 20/04/2022 05:04

I think exactly the same way. Also, time having no beginning. How is that possible? HOW?!

Fuck. Add message isnt the same as quote

MayBeee · 20/04/2022 07:09

It's weird that as humans we name things . Days of the week , years , and other humans , and stuff like grass , sky , things we eat etc . What do animals do ? Does every species of animal have its own name for a thing ? Does an animal look towards the sky and think to itself , Sunny day today ? Or , it looks like it will rain later ?

RagzRebooted · 20/04/2022 07:29

dropthevipers · 15/04/2022 00:23

weird fact on the Horizon science programme. If you added up all the people on earth and subtracted the empty space in the atoms that make up all those people, the solid stuff left would be about the size of a sugar cube. had to go for a lie down after that. WTF?

So, I really should be able to walk through walls?

BigCheeseSandwich · 20/04/2022 07:36

My friend brought this up yesterday and it blew my tiny mind - have you ever wondered what men have in the space where we have a uterus? They get extra colon apparently. I had never ever stopped to think about that one!

BrokenCopper · 20/04/2022 07:47

Possibly because some people don't recognise faces very well, it's like if I don't see the dog without the owner, I don't know it is the same person. 😅

BrokenCopper · 20/04/2022 07:48

Possibly because some people don't recognise faces very well, it's like if I don't see the dog without the owner, I don't know it is the same person. 😅

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