I have coffee in the same place one or two days a week. I sit in the same place. And over time I have come to know the regulars who also fit this place into their morning routine.
We are such creatures of habit.
I see one gentleman comes in each morning I am there. He orders an espresso. He speaks french, wears a Bluetooth phone headset and carries enormous amounts of paper with him. He makes phone calls while he sips his espresso.
We have noticed each other. We could ignore each other but instead we have come to make a point of saying good morning. It is as though we are compelled to acknowledge that our routines have collided. We break our bubbles and a stranger becomes real.
We try so hard to be anonymous and independent. We flow through our lives moving as a faceless and nameless bodies on buses and trains, in stores and shops, and in cubicles and hallways. But there are people to connect to everywhere. What would happen if we were to open our hearts to community and bring a face and name to the people we slide past?