I was riding the subway in New York this afternoon and I had an interesting experience. I felt like the subway car was a room and the people in the subway car were in the room with me. But rather than being uninteresting objects that I didn't care for, the people had a sense of vitality to them. They were amazing to watch and be around. They were alive.
I think sometimes that people become objects to us in the same way as a sofa, table or set of china. We want to control them to do and be in a way that makes us happy. But I notice when I slow down and take things in, I feel an affinity with others. There's this amazing array of feelings in a human being. We're always changing. You never know what's going to come out of our mouths. And there's a life force that comes through another's presence that's beautiful.
Contrast this with what it feels like to be in a room full of objects. They're not changing. There's no life force. We can control them. No wonder we are tempted to live our lives filled with controllable objects rather than uncontrollable people. But what makes us feel alive? The objects? Not really.
