Sonder

I remember flying home for my dad’s funeral and looking out into the darkness and seeing all the headlights and lights from houses and wondering what the people behind those lights were going through.

Were they having the best day of their lives? The worst? Or maybe somewhere in between? That feeling stuck with me and I wanted to know if there was a word to describe it

Of course there’s a word for it!

Every week I work from my favorite coffee shop on Friday. I love the sounds of conversations, the laughter and occasionally being witness to a first meetup. It’s wonderful background noise for me as I go about my daily work.

I think of the word sonder every time and it sends my brain into a journey trying to figure out if everyone feels this way too.

Is this a common thing to realize? Maybe people don’t know the word for it but just have the feeling?

I don’t know. But I’m definitely aware of the threads and moments in my life and thinking about other people’s experiences and their interactions throughout the day just makes me feel … things.

Hopefully as I continue to experience this I’ll develop a deeper understanding into it and be able to explain it better the next time I write about!