There is something so intriguing about sitting in a room full of people, and to be a complete stranger. I had three hours to kill, waiting for my connecting flight to Dallas. I strolled around the different gates and terminals, watching people rush past me.
The businessman. You will recognize him by his serious countenance, talking into his blue-tooth earpiece. Briefcase in one hand, Starbucks in the other. The way he walks will assure you that he’s a pretty big deal.
The basketball players. They normally stick out like a sore thumb due to their height, muscle mass, and the fact that all 15 of them wear the same sweats.
The elderly. The last kind of people you want to get stuck behind when you’re in a hurry, but when you are not…they are so fun to observe. The more wrinkles, the more life they have lived. Wondering their story, and what they must have been like when they were my age. And I’ve found, that they are usually chipper or grumpy. Sweet or sassy. Both responses are to me, equally entertaining. J
The large families. Some kids are on leashes, one is strapped to their mother’s back, and another is on their dad’s shoulders. “Dora the Explorer” rolling suitcases, and “Bob the Builder” backpacks.
Right in the midst of the mothers trying to keep their kids still, and the majority of people on their cell phones, laptops, or ipods…what do I find? A 30-something “free spirit” playing his guitar. He had sandy-blond hair, green eyes, and a big mustache.
Oh, the joys of travel. As I sat in that airport, I pretended I was Elizabeth Gilbert…off to find myself in another country. The more I imagined it, the more I longed for it to be true. My heart comes alive in places that are unfamiliar. Moreso, in places where I am just another face in a crowd. There’s nothing quite like feeling as if somehow, you’ve stepped out of time itself, and yet you are still able to watch the busy buzz of life unfold before your very eyes. To me, it is exciting. It’s like peeking into the lives of others, just for the sake of appreciating a different way of living.
For today, I will have to settle for observing and pretending I am on my way to somewhere foreign, instead of on my way home. But, I suppose one of the greatest things about an imagination is that sometimes it inspires you to dream up new adventures that truly can be your reality for the future. Time to start saving up for my much anticipated “future” reality!
