Connection
"I just want you to know, I'm not mad at you."
Those were the distinct words I heard from a girl at university today. She was walking by me with her cellphone and I heard it ever-so clearly without even trying.
Many questions rose in my mind about that simple statement.
Who is this girl? Who was she talking to? Why did they think she was mad? What did they do? What did she do?
On occasion I come to this same realization, that I know truly nothing about the people who surround me. It's astounding and strange to think about. I can't even fathom the depths of human disconnection in this world. Just think about it...You're on a bus, there's 30 strangers surrounding you. Every single one of those people have families, friends, jobs, hobbies, maybe even pets and a special talent. Several go to university, with goals and aspirations. Some might be thinking of proposing to their loved one, some may be contemplating suicide. Some of them may be looking forward to getting drunk with their friends later, while others may have plans to sit at home, study, and play video games with a bowl of Ichiban in their laps. Some may be gay, some may have herpes, some might know how to do the alphabet backwards faster than you can do it forwards, and some might find happiness in a book and a glass of wine. 30 very complicated and intricate stories crammed in the space of one small bus.
This girl wasn't just a stranger to me anymore. In my mind, this human being had a life not unlike my own. Of course I have no idea what she was going through, or what she was talking about...but for some strange reason I felt more connected to her life in that spark of realization than those lives of my closer friends. Strange, isn't it? Not many people may fully realize this, but you have human beings living out a...perhaps wonderful, or sad, or complicated, or desolate, or intriguing life right next door.
Strange.
-Meo
Those were the distinct words I heard from a girl at university today. She was walking by me with her cellphone and I heard it ever-so clearly without even trying.
Many questions rose in my mind about that simple statement.
Who is this girl? Who was she talking to? Why did they think she was mad? What did they do? What did she do?
On occasion I come to this same realization, that I know truly nothing about the people who surround me. It's astounding and strange to think about. I can't even fathom the depths of human disconnection in this world. Just think about it...You're on a bus, there's 30 strangers surrounding you. Every single one of those people have families, friends, jobs, hobbies, maybe even pets and a special talent. Several go to university, with goals and aspirations. Some might be thinking of proposing to their loved one, some may be contemplating suicide. Some of them may be looking forward to getting drunk with their friends later, while others may have plans to sit at home, study, and play video games with a bowl of Ichiban in their laps. Some may be gay, some may have herpes, some might know how to do the alphabet backwards faster than you can do it forwards, and some might find happiness in a book and a glass of wine. 30 very complicated and intricate stories crammed in the space of one small bus.
This girl wasn't just a stranger to me anymore. In my mind, this human being had a life not unlike my own. Of course I have no idea what she was going through, or what she was talking about...but for some strange reason I felt more connected to her life in that spark of realization than those lives of my closer friends. Strange, isn't it? Not many people may fully realize this, but you have human beings living out a...perhaps wonderful, or sad, or complicated, or desolate, or intriguing life right next door.
Strange.
-Meo
