A Story.

I sat on the train today next to a man in uniform. Those suited to firemen or rescue workers. Bright neon yellow with reflective strips. He was by no means refined or genteel in any specific way. He was travelling from Newcastle to York and as I sat beside him the sour smell of his cheese crackers wafted over as he ate them. Unrushed, unhurried, but not particularly slowly either. It occurred to me then, like an awakening of some sort. I not only saw him and acknowledged his presence beside me, I SAW him and I could very potently feel the presence of another living, breathing human being beside me. The coincidence of the conscious and the subconscious, the careless and the meticulous, all in one. I truly appreciated this human next to me. And I thought then. Perhaps he is going home to his family. Perhaps he is taking this train back to those who care for him and patiently await his return. And I realized. Everyone has a story. Be it a good or a bad story, everyone has a story. And we may want to know them, we may not want to know those stories, but each individual has one and thus is how we connect and make sense of this world.