People Who Need People

Points to anyone who recognizes the title (or an imaginary cupcake because who wouldn't prefer that)!  A little while ago I had a discussion with my friend about how crazy it is to think that we see so many people everyday and yet never really take the time to actually notice them.  This all started because my friend saw me driving home from the library and we wondered how many times in the past we had passed each other and never knew it before becoming friends.  This topic is one of many that keep me up at night.  After the conversation I didn't really seriously consider it again until I read a quote from an author I actually think I hate a little bit, I know hate is a strong word but literature inspires strong emotions okay, by the name of John Steinbeck who wrote, "I wonder how many people I've looked at all my life and never seen".  Then last night at a baseball game my friends and I were stuck for about an hour in the parking lot where we ended up having a conversation with a bunch of guys tailgating right next to us.  Complete strangers that I otherwise would never have noticed and I'll probably never see any of them again, but at least if I do I'll know that I'm seeing them.  That's what is actually so hard for me to grasp about all of this is that I wish there was a way we could recognize when someone we pass will be important to us later on in life.  Like some sort of signal or maybe a gut feeling you get when you pass someone that says "Hey, you should stop and introduce yourself because you'll be seeing them again in the future".  I know it's ludicrous to try and actually see everyone you pass in a day I just can't help but feel like we waste so much time with people who are important to us by not being aware of their importance earlier.  There's nothing I can do about it and I ought to just let it go, but today on my run I slowed down every time I passed someone and tried to really notice them just in case.  All of my neighbors now think I'm either crazy or was raised in some progressive new-age household where parents don't teach their children manners or that it's not polite to stare (I assure you my household was anything but new-age) but at least I'll recognize them if we cross paths again.  We can't predict the future, unfortunately, but we can make the effort to see people now while we have the chance. 
Update: That whole positive thinking spiel, TOTALLY WORKS! I tried it at work the past couple of days and made more tips than ever before, thank you positivity for funding my obsession with cherry peel-apart twizzlers and hard-cover books.
Have a RUN-believable day!
Song Suggestion: Are You Free - Jhameel

For those of you who didn't receive the free cupcake above I'll let you off the hook with this one, here's a hint!