THE FEELING OF SONDER

 Today, 7 billion people experienced this day differently. In the quiet corners of homes and bustling city streets, stories played out with a myriad of emotions. Some welcomed a child, some mourns the loss. Some are happy, some are sad. Some gave birth, some miscarried. Some got demoted, some got promoted. Some got a new job, some were laid off.

The important question is

 “How did your day go?”

The realization that other people view life through their own lens. That other people are experiencing lives in their own way, however life decides to treat them. You are not the only one seeking answers, yearning for experiences, questioning your self, trying to express yourself. Everyone is dealing with the ups and downs of life. Some were born with the riches and some were not privileged to. We often get so caught up in our lives that we forget we live in a big world filled with other people who breathe an are also train to survive.

And so the expression “you are uniquely different” becomes true because indeed nobody is the same if you think about it. That stranger you bumped into, the bookseller, the newspaper vendor, the thousands of strangers that we inadvertently intersect with have things they are going through. And don’t get me wrong. Love yourself, fall in love with the art of you, never lose yourself to other people.

 

This feeling is known as Sonder.

“Coined by American author and neologist John Koenig in 2012, whose project, The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows, aims to come up with new words for emotions that currently lack words.”- wikitionary.

It is defined as the realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own, in which you might appear only once, as an extra sipping coffee in the background.

This sensation reminds us to be gentler with ourselves, encouraging a moment to appreciate the life and people around us. It underscores the vastness of the world compared to our small place within it.

For indeed, the world is big and we are so little in it.

 

Here’s a poem:

n the bustling streets where strangers pass,

Each a story, a life amassed.

In fleeting glances and brief exchange,

A universe unfolds, beyond our range.

 

Sonder whispers in the rush of feet,

Echoes of tales that seldom meet.

In every face, a journey untold,

A tapestry of secrets, manifold.

 

Amidst the chaos, a quiet plea,

To see beyond what merely seems to be.

For in each soul, a universe blooms,

A constellation of hopes and dooms.

 

So let us pause and truly see,

The depths within humanity.

For in this vast and intricate dance,

Lies the beauty of sonder's trance.

 

For every heartbeat, a saga flows,

Of triumphs, losses, highs, and lows.

In the symphony of souls we find,

Connections woven, intertwined.

 

So cherish each encounter, brief or long,

For in sonder's gaze, we all belong.

A reminder that we're not alone,

In this grand cosmos we call our own.

 

What are your thoughts? Let me know!

Have you ever experienced Sonder?

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