Really, words cannot express how happy the autumn makes me. I am in constant awe and admiration of the magnificence of Mother Nature and today is just one of those remarkable days where I walk around with a smile pasted on my face, just because. Do you ever get that irrepressible feeling of pure joy over seemingly nothing? An inexplainable sense of euphoria, exhiliration, that just could not be suppressed? Your cheeks tingle, like when you pop a sour candy in the side of your mouth, and you cannot bear to hold back that overwhelming need to grin. Your heart leaps and you just feel light and giddy, almost elfin or childlike. Today is just that sort of day... the air is crisp and full with the fresh scent of September. It is chilly enough for rich-colored sweaters and the toasty, woolen scarf I just finished knitting, but the sun is beaming and plants a soft, rosy kiss on my cheeks. I cannot get enough. It is a day for heartwarming cups of red wine and mulled cider. It is a day for laughter and deep conversation. And it is especially a day for long walks and people-watching.
People-watching is among my most favorite pastimes. Side by side with my dear sister, Sara, I stroll the sprightly streets of Philadelphia, in search of amusement and inspiration. I do not have to look hard; I find the human species to be simply fascinating. Today the streets are abound with humanity, people out soaking up this beautiful, sunny Saturday. Traipsing down Walnut Street at a leisurely gait, we pass lovers on park benches, coworkers lunching at sidewalk cafés, collegians casually smoking cigarettes outside coffee shops. Sara and I smile at them and try to imagine some romantic lifestyle for each and every one as we walk by. Deep, abiding love stories. Quarrels over who forgot to take out the trash. Scandalous affairs. I suppose we will never know, but I still enjoy scheming up vignettes of other people's lives.
Have you ever thought about it? How other people are, and always will be, utter enigmas? There is a Charles Dickens quote that pertains to this, and it is one of my favorites:
“A wonderful fact to reflect upon, that every human creature is constituted to be that profound secret and mystery to every other.”
Indeed. It is amazing, isn't it? The stranger sitting across from you on the train. Your colleague or classmate. Your sister or brother. Even your spouse. No matter how well you think you know someone, you can never truly get inside his/her thoughts, emotions. Human existence is a concept that never ceases to blow my mind. We are so interconnected, so kindred as human beings, and yet so completely alone. We all think, we all breathe, we all feel, and yet no two creatures share the same experiences or interpretations. This is why I am so enthralled with expression, with art, with words, because they are all we have to bridge the gaps between our own individual realities. I fall in love with strangers every day, just knowing that they have their own lives, families, passions, and fears that I know absolutely nothing about. This world is incredible and I could not be any happier to be alive and experiencing it, trying to piece together all the fragments that I will never really understand. I wonder who is out there trying to guess my life story. Could it be you?
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