Sunday, March 1, 2009

This I believe

I believe in people watching.

I have always enjoyed sitting on a bench, in a park or somewhere in public, and just watching people as they do the various things that people do. Whether it’s walking with someone they love, playing games with their children, or just a lonely person out for a lonely stroll. As I sit on that bench I wonder where these people are from and what stories they have to tell. What hardships they have had to overcome and what joys they have experienced in their lifetime. Sometimes I even go as far as creating a background for them. One person may be meeting someone in order to begin mischief and mayhem, while another could simply be looking for answers in a world of questions.

What’s most exciting while watching people is when they collide. Watching them interact, it’s like watching a story unfold, like watching television with the clicker being your eyes. I never realized how much I would learn from watching people.

When my grandfather was dieing of cancer I sat and watched as my family came and went, saying their goodbyes. He had refused any treatment because at the age of 65 he had a full head of hair and didn’t want to lose it. With death so close to me I realized what little time I have to live, anyone has to live. At that moment, I began to live for every other moment. I realized that life is an awful thing to waste. That’s why the mother always chases after her young children when they go to far. That’s why the two people in love never let go of each other. That’s why the lonely man is walking through a lively park. We are all trying to hang on to life and enjoy it. I believe in living. I believe in living, not for the past or the future, but for now. I believe in life.

1 comment:

Ember said...

There's something so intriguing about watching other people. Just sitting on that bench, your daily worries subside and you just focus on the ways of others. Everyone has such a mystery that you're drawn to it. On these particular days, I let myself get a feel of their lives, the way they dress, the way they carry themselves. And you let yourself wonder, is this way that this certain person is carrying themself, is it truly their ownself or someone posing, hiding, masking what they really feel or what they truly want. And then you're smacked back into reality, because they've stepped on your foot...uh hello?! Person on the bench! :)

Let's people watch sometime soon, k?