Stranger Secrets

Some days, I'll see a person on the street and wonder what their agenda is. I want to know where they are going, where they were before, and if they are enjoying themselves.

What saddens me sometimes is there is another side to people that I will never get to see. Whether it be family, friends, or strangers, they have a part to their life I don't know about. It frustrates me, not because I'm nosy, but because I want to know how they're doing.

Yesterday, I saw a woman walking down the street with rolling backpack trailing behind her. My first thought was, "why do people still use those things?" But it got deeper. What was in there? Where was she going with it? I continued to think about her relationships, wondering if there was any drama in her life. If she was in love with anyone and if they had a nickname for her. What if she wasn't in love, was she suffering?

Today, I saw a man sitting alone in a deli, eating and gazing out a window. I imagined he was thinking of how hard his life was, how he hated his job and was anxious to get home. But, for the moment, he focused on his lunch, letting everything else fall by the wayside. I was probably completely wrong in my assumptions, but I will never know.

My thoughts have spread to everyone in my life. I will never know the true nature of my parents relationship and the small dramas playing out in their lives. I'll never fully understand the lives and emotions of my friends, if they are happy or if they are longing for something more and different. I'll continue to wonder about the strangers I pass and their secret lives.

Every Sunday, a website I follow posts secrets of people who anonymously sent them on postcards. The testimonials usually read how liberating it is to share a secret with the world, and some leave little notes and secrets in books wherever they go, feeling glad that they have a secret shared with a stranger. How great it would be, I think, if everyone shared a secret with a stranger and a little bit of you was revealed.

To all strangers and non-strangers alike, whatever the destination and whatever happens in your lives, I hope you are happy and someday willing to share a part of yourself with the world.