Subway Musings

I've always had a "problem" with eye contact. "Problem" more correctly explained as I make too much of it sometimes. Partially motivated by my horrible 20/200 vision and partially because I'm always interested in the lives of complete strangers. 

It doesn't do me well when I get off at Canal Street and store vendors take it as an opportunity to lure me into a dark room and sell me illegal counterfeit bags. But it does make people smile, I've noticed. When I walk down these streets filled with strangers with complex inner lives, it's crazy to me that no one really knows each other. 

Example: I've lived on E. 79th Street in Manhattan for 1 month now, and I have not seen the same person twice. Honestly, I have only seen my neighbor, Mark, about 5 times and that's because he leaves his door wide open between the hours of 11am and 2pm (don't ask, because we really don't know either). 

So when I can walk down the street on my commute to work in the morning, instead of looking straight ahead like a zombie and 95% of the other New Yorkers, I look at people. Genuinely and with a little smile. I know you're probably imagining me galavanting down the road showing all my teeth and grinning like an idiot, but I promise it's more subtle than that. 

And even though I get about 2 or 3 smiles back, I feel a connection with them. So, on my Subway ride to work, I create these elaborate backstories to their lives and the people I see sitting and standing in the seats. 

I'm very observant, a slight flaw but also allows me to be detail oriented in my stories. By the time I get to work, I have life stories and dreams and struggles attached to the smiles and eyes I found on my walk. 

Looking at people and truly seeing people for who they are completely different.

Try it sometime.