Mirroring Passerbys

Wandering the streets of Brighton and Hove today, listening to some of my favorites - Arcade Fire, Ben Harper, Leonard Cohen, The Cold War Kids, Bob Marley - I felt completely intuned. Each and every passerby seemed to me to be alive and well today, and the amount of people I made contact with was fascinating. I never really accepted that there is an etiquette of avoiding to look at strangers. I find it most uncomfortable to see someone up ahead that you wish to smile at, and then when they get within close enough proximity that we should look at the ground or off to the side ever so slightly seems unnecessary. It's as though it was okay to see them from a distance, but when strangers crossing on the street get within a few metres, it's only right to make one another invisible. Never could I wrap my head around that one. I find I often have no choice. I see someone, I look at them, I sometimes smile with my eyes. I don't smile at all passerbys, only the ones that appear harmless.

I think most people want to make the simple things in life, like a walk in the streets listening to music, a meaningful and contemplative event. I can't see myself from the point of view of the person passing, but I know that they are thinking some of the same things about me as I am about them. I am not just looking at that strangers eyes, but that stranger is looking at mine. And, when I realize this, I can see that the mirroring we partake of in daily life mimics that of the art appreciator.