I was temporarily stuck in traffic this morning and I decided to look around at the people surrounding me. There was a balding man, probably my age, driving an older four-door sedan. He had a worried look on his face — I began to make up a life for him (I do that a lot.) He probably had a family. Or he could be going through a divorce. He might be worried about his job. Or he could just have to pee because he drank too much coffee. On the other side of me was a younger woman, probably 25 or so. She had a small SUV and was busy tapping on her phone. I could see her smile — whatever it was she was reading brought her a moment of joy.
We pass strangers every day and just let them pass us by. I thought about that as I watched the people in the cars. Every one of those people had a story. Every one of those people has something they are dealing with. It may be a tragedy. A divorce. Sickness. A loss of a job. Drugs may be destroying someone in their family. They may be battling the bottle themselves.
It’s easy to get caught up in your own drama or even some trumped-up controversy on cable news. Lord knows I have gotten worked up over my own stuff recently. But at that moment, when I was sitting in traffic, I thought about my purpose on this earth. And I thought, if I can bring a moment of joy to someone else — someone who is going through their own hell, then maybe a good life is possible after all.
Empathy is hard to find when you’re caught in rush hour traffic. But for a brief moment, I felt it.