Sonder

Maybe, the only advantage of traffic jams is the ultra short-term connections we get to experience with strangers!  

Glimpses of strangers' faces leave me in wonder: we are NOT who we are. 

When you meet someone, regardless of the fact that it's your first time meeting them or not, you don't know who they actually are in that present moment. 

You have no clue what their first thought of the day was and how much of a role it's going to play for the rest of it! 

You can try to guess, but you don't exactly know why they're extra edgy or less happy. 

You don't know if they experienced a heartache they've never encountered before. 

 You also don't know what vivid scenes they couldn't help but see during the paradoxical interval of their sleep. 

...............         .............       ...........

You just don't know what anyone is thinking about. 

You don't know how broken hearted they are. 

You don't know how insecure they really are. 

You don't know how obfuscating everything is to them at this time. 

You don't know how aware they are of their flaws and imperfections. 

You don't know how much hate they possess. 

You don't know what peeves them most. 

You don't know what thought is stroking their throats. 

You don't know what feelings are controlling their every move. 

You don't know how much they hate you when you joke about that thing they don't find the slightest humor in. 

You don't know how much they want to change for the better, but the impediments are just so hindering. 

You don't know why they just smiled or smirked. 

You don't know why they lied when they did. 

You don't know what they genuinely meant by what they have uttered so apathetically! 

We never really know who anyone is, no matter how much we cling to the illusion that we do. We'll never be aware of the actual what's, how's, and why's. "Everything is not what it seems." And only Allah knows every creature's true intentions! 

So the next time you lock eyes with a stranger as you both "coincidentally" turn to the window, meet someone new, or encounter a dear friend or family member once again, try being as much of a lesser burden as you can possibly be, and know that you don't know them nor yourself. Because as every second passes by, we change completely to different beings. We are not who we are. We are a different somebody every day. Maybe it's because we all alter, we don't notice it, as our metamorphosis is ever so corresponding.