I’m an adult male who works downtown near a pretty nice park. Now that the weather is getting better, I’d like to get outside at lunch and work on juggling.
I’ve never done it because I don’t want to the the weirdo that’s juggling in the middle of the day, but I don’t really have any other time when I can practice in an open space.
Would it be weird if you were in a park and a grown up man was there juggling?
Edit: Thanks everyone for the words of encouragement. It probably says a lot about what I think about people who choose to mind their own business while engaging in things they enjoy in their spare time. I’ve learned a lot here. There also doesn’t seem to be a juggling/flow arts Lemmy community so maybe that’s something we can do.
Seems fine to me. I’d rather someone juggle than loudly play some instrument.
As a professional juggler I say go for it! That’s where I practise and never had any bad experiences in public parks.
True story: I used to worry so much about what people thought. One day I did an experiment, dyed my hair lime green and went around to the shops, library etc. Nobody batted an eyelid and I realised it was just me.
Nowadays I do “weird” things in public every weekend, and people usually pay in advance!
Does it matter?
I don’t mean that in a dismissive way. Actually think about it.
If you’re good enough at it you might make some side money, win-win imo.
Nope, that is what third spaces are for. :)
If someone sees you and thinks “wow look at this weirdo” it’s on them, not you. And in truth they’re probably just jealous of someone that’s having a good time :)
I mean, if you take “weird” to mean “abnormal”, then yes, it would be very weird. You will likely be the only person juggling in the park. But weird doesn’t mean bad - just different.
On the other hand, your coworkers probably spend their lunch breaks eating McDonalds and scrolling IG in their cars. Juggling in the park sounds like a way better use of your time.
Sounds really cool. Weird? Not at all.
I don’t think so, but people might stare a bit if you do it in a busy place of the park.
I would look for a place with a bit of quiet. I saw people do a variety of things in parks. When they choose a quiet place, I’ll assume they want peace for there outside hobby and give them that.It’s weird to juggle anywhere, but you shouldn’t let that stop you cause everybody’s weird in some way or another and that’s fine. A park seems like as good a place as any.
Absolutely not weird, and any normal adult would just walk by and think hey cool.
Unpopular opinion time, the only people, and I mean literally, the only people that are even suggesting it’s weird or thinking other people think it’s weird, are the sweatys that have never actually been to a park, or understand the dynamics of park people.
I’d say that’s exactly what the park is for.
Yes, it is.
Do it anyway.
When you’re 20, you care what everyone thinks about you
When you’re 40, you don’t give a shit what anyone thinks about you.
When you’re 60, you’ll realize no one was thinking about you the whole time. It will be more empowering than depressing.
Skip the worry. Do you. It’s public space and hurts no one.
I love this comment just for the fact you point out that no one really thinks about you and even if they do, their opinion isn’t relevant.
I myself am 50 and I gave up many years ago even considering what other people think about me, as long as I behave in an ethical and kind way.
This to say, I cannot imagine the daily stress of today’s generation, where every moment is spent disingenuously performing for others on SM and trying to get them to notice you
I keep trying to reinforce this for my wife at her work. People tend to grossly overestimate how much time others spend thinking about them. They don’t really think about you at all.
Too many people think they are the center of the universe, and everybody is watching them, so they never figure out the people they think are watching, think they are the center of their universe, too, and everyone is watching them.
I have noticed that too, which is really odd because they well know I’m the center of the universe not them. \s
and hurts no one.
That depends entirely on what he’s juggling and how skilled he is.
If they were farting glitter and juggling I would certainly be impressed.
Would it be weird if you were in a park and a grown up man was there juggling?
No. It would be depressing if I was in a park and no one was there juggling, or trying to learn to ride a unicycle, or failing to slackline, or setting up a tent for the first time before going on an adventure, or doing yoga, or practicing artistic moves.
To me, that’s just what people do in a park. That’s (also) what parks are for.When you start, for the first 5 minutes or so, people will look at you, maybe they’ll even point at you, maybe even laugh.
But unless you live in a really shitty depressing place, that laugh will be one of joy, and they’ll look and point at you cause they are interested.Source: I did all those activities in parks. No one ever laughed at me, and I never got the feeling they thought I’m a weirdo.
You’re spot on. I’m always looking at people doing stuff like that, and it’s always with envy of their ability to do stuff in public. The guy falling off his skateboard, the fat guy in the pool, the weird meditation circle.
We need more of it. The world is a much better place when we can see other people enjoying and bettering themselves.
This is why you can also maybe pick a spot where your back is facing most foot traffic and people can point and look all they want without distracting from your practice.
Or if you’re ambitious, you practice in front of the busiest footpath and get all of the embarrassment of failing in front of an audience out of the way early.
So nothing can phase you later when you perform.lol true as well! I personally am not that ambitious when it comes to juggling but I should be.
