You don't say, if you don't do, if you don't know

One of the things that I often do in Auckland is to sit in a park or on a busy street and spend the afternoon watching people walking by.

Making stories about them as I watch them walk, jog, run, skip, cycle, jump by.

Asking questions like, where do they live, what do they do for a living, how did they spend dinner last night, what are their favourite movies, do they like chocolate ice-cream, how would they sound if they laugh, how were they when they were kids, how would they be when they grow up, where were they coming from, where are they going to, or even, where would they be in 5 years?

But never have I ever approached anyone to actually ask this questions.

Imagine if I did, wouldn't I know more about these people (although with bruises in my eyes for intruding into other people's business) so that I can appreciate them a little bit more rather than judge them in a blink of an eye based merely on their appearance?

How many times have you felt misjudged or misunderstood by others for what you said or what you did, because they did not know nuts about you? Why wouldn't they know anything about you? Because you've never told them. Why have you never told them? Because they've never asked.

When was the last time you've really asked a friend to get to know them better? Sure, some would back away when they're asked questions like that, but some might open up to you and pour her or his heart out. And you'll be amazed by what he or she has to say. And suddenly, this life, with all its complexities, would seem slightly, albeit as little as an amoeba, comprehensible.