The Guy on the train.

I always wondered what it would be like to have a short bio on everyone you see on a train. If you could have a popup display of a person that describes who they are and what happened to them and what they are busy with. It didn't take me long to wonder what the snippets on top of my head would be (I just naturally assumed that this fictitious popup would appear on top of my head, like in Jumanji).

All the good things

We want to show our good sides, it's normal. No one walks around wanting to display their ill-fitting qualities and insecurities and I sincerely hope doing so does not become the norm. It is okay to share when things are great and spreading this joy can be a breath of fresh air to people who hear it. Being a light in a dull world or moment is just what the planet needs, so keep on being that.

As always, however, the flipside of the coin is true: sharing the great can become a race, a competition and a never ending level-up pursuit that keeps us busy till the day we die (and ultimately get the better tombstone between our friends). It's simple (said, not done, it's very hard to do...just saying): out of all the good things to show up on our bio, let's make the stuff count that will transcend us, not the futile medal collections or promotions we think will make someone on a train find us more interesting.

All the bad things

What have you done wrong in life? If you can easily name a few things and are already thinking what will be part of the heads-up display of your life...don't fret, it's perfectly understandable. If you can't name a few things, stop reading please and go eat some Häagen-Dazs.

We (me) sometimes make the list of the bad things longer than the previous one. The reason for that is that negative information or experiences causes an increase in activity in the part of our brain that processes that information. What this means is that those memories are more 'ingrained' in our brains, like a pathway. To battle this, we (me) should intentionally turn 'All' the bad things into 'some' of the bad things. You would be surprised how little people care about whether you stole a chip from your cousin in 2008 or not, and even when you have done some really bad things, there will always be tomorrow to do a little less bad things, and that is a good thing.

Alt-J Life

In Alt-J's song, Interlude I, they end off with the following lyrics: 'Like all good fruit, the balance of life is in the ripe and ruin." That's what an Alt-J life is to me...right there in the middle where you aren't suffocating under your very own judgement or on the other hand living life so la Vida Loca that you miss everyone around you. Be like a good fruit and remember balance.

I want to challenge you, that next time you see someone on a train, to talk to them without any other prerogative than to talk to them. When you do, no matter how exciting or boring their lives are, their stories will enhance your life and give you that extra bit of color it needs...that we all need.

The more experiences you end up having with others, the less time you have to think about the bad things on your popup display. Go live life.

TF