Once Upon A Stranger

Do you ever go back and wonder about the random strangers you had a brief encounters with on certain days?

The random dude you made awkward eye contact with at a café. The lady who offered to help you carry your bags when your hands were full. The little toddler who played hide and seek with you as his parents pushed his stroller. The elderly woman who struck up a conversation while you both were waiting to get dropped off at your bus stop.

I know my mind does like to wonder about such strangers. It is the ultimate vagabond. It likes to make stories up about them. Each stranger with his/her own unique tale of love, struggle, success, heart-ache, and happiness.

Just like you and I, they all go through the same ups and downs that life throws at them. They all have dreams and aspirations, they all made mistakes, they all have regrets, they all are trying to better themselves as humans (except perhaps that toddler, yea, toddlers pretty much live the good life). We may all be strangers to one another, but the fundamental fibres of our existence is pretty much similar.

My travelling mind then wonders about the people we currently know in life. Our friends, our partner, our significant other, our colleagues. Once upon a time, they were strangers to us, but what was it that changed that status? A simple hello? A common acquaintance? A coincidental situation? Whatever the case may be, it is a pleasant thought knowing that a random stranger that we interact with could potentially become influential and permanent members of our lives.

You never know the impact a stranger you meet may have on your life, or conversely, the impact you may have on them. So the next time you are out and about, maybe think about what Dr. Steve Maraboli said, “Smile at strangers and you just might change a life”.