you're alive too?!

Sometimes, I kind of forget that everyone else is living life too. I am living in my own entire world just with my own thoughts; it seems unfathomable that every other single person has their own individual world's that they are consumed by too.

When I'm reminded of this, I just find it so sad that I don't take every opportunity to discover other peoples' worlds.

(Pinterest)

Whether that discovery is just a peek into someone's world through a conversation with a barista or an invite to one's world through talking with a classmate that led to a new friend. I think we should take more opportunities in life to really discover others' worlds. By this, I don't mean having a small conversation about a hot topic with a stranger; I want people to have conversations that hold meaning, whether that is through the words said or the understandings unsaid.

What if we lived in a world where, rather than waiting until you get home to call your mom and tell her about a new obstacle in your life, you felt comfortable enough to chat with the person standing next to you at the bus stop. It seems like such a weird idea, but why is that? We are all people, and we're all living life for the first time. So, shouldn't we be able to experience it honestly and openly with everyone else? We should be able to talk to other humans like we mean it, like our words have meaning.

This is not to say that our words do not have meaning as of now. Rather, we do not always think about the meaning that our words could and do carry. We have conversations with people without thinking about the meaning of our words everyday, and while there is nothing morally wrong with that, I believe we are missing out on the potential of our interactions.

If we put just as much meaning and importance on other people's worlds as we put on our own worlds, I think we can all get a little more out of life.

(Pinterest)

Think back on some of the most memorable conversations you have ever had in your life. Think about how much meaning the words carried because you were listening and speaking with meaning. Because you cared about this other person's world and cared to think about this other person having an entire other world of their own to navigate that is just as important to them as your world is to you.

Now, imagine if every conversation and interaction you had with everyone in life was just as meaningful as that. Not because we could start confessing everything about our lives to everyone, but because we could start going through life with this understanding that every individual is carrying their own world on their shoulders. And our interactions and words should reflect that understanding.