To The Stranger Who Caught My Eye

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I met you today. I say met; you caught my eye on the tube, brushed past me in the coffee shop, offered me a lighter. But there was a spark, a connection of some sort, which left me with a lingering question, What if?

A dangerous but nevertheless exciting question: what if you could be the love of my life, a casual suitor, a short-lived fling or lifelong friend. Isn’t it scary to think that we pass hundreds of people every day in ordinary and mundane circumstances but never know or are open to the possibility that they could be a potential.

I feel that for the past few generations we have been brought up and led to believe that stepping into the unknown in social situations is not the ‘done’ thing: but is somehow taboo. But how do we know?

Instead of sitting on the bus staring into space, pretending to be transfixed by a passing advert or blown away by a song, shouldn’t I take the time to stop? Take the opportunity to learn about the person next to me. Ask open questions, step outside my comfort zone and potentially have a great time.

I think the word fate is a big and overused term but we are herd animals who like to group together and stay safe in our social bubbles. Instead of the word fate I am going to use the word opportunity. We are thrust into new social opportunities everyday so why stick to the known when the unknown is far more exciting. Nerve-racking but exciting.

A teacher of mine once told me that humans are all like bubbles. We float around independently, sometimes colliding with other bubbles but equally easily bypass others with no contact at all. I find it intriguing but also sad that people are out there who could be great potential ‘somethings’ but whom I will never meet.

So to the strangers out there. Nice to meet you. I hope we see each other soon.