Thursday, November 14, 2013

For the love of strangers.

I think I'm hardwired to get deeply attached to a wide circle of close friends.

Whenever I hear that there are only two types of people -- those who have just a few close friends, and those who have a wide circle of acquaintances -- I never know where I fit in that spectrum. I prefer to take as many people as I can under my wing, and I want them all to be REAL friendships. I don't like being half-baked about a human connection. Sure, it makes for a lot of people to keep up with (and a lot of weddings to attend every year), but I wouldn't have it any other way.

It's an ongoing goal of mine to funnel that natural tendency toward strangers. Frequently, I get shy/quiet around new groups of people, strangers in public, etc. It takes me a bit to warm up to new crowds (e.g. new coworkers), but then I'm all fiercely attached when I work up to it. When it comes down to it, I have the same widespread generic compassion for strangers as I do anyone else, but I want to be better at showing it sooner and more often.

So, I adore this heartwarming storyAnd then it inspired someone to make a video that totally makes me smile, and causes me to think about how I'd react in that situation. I love it so much.

Sleeping on Strangers on the Subway



1 comment:

Alexis Kaye said...

I think that's awesome. I'm ashamed to say that I'm not sure if I'd let a stranger sleep on me though. I've had some pretty smelly sketchy people get a little too close for comfort for me on the lightrail. But then again, I'm big into personal space. I can still be a good person though right? ;) ha!