Train Station Friends

So I went to Chicago on Sunday because I had just bought a new digital camera. It was during this trip that I ran into little Mia and her mom waiting for the METRA train to come by and take us to Millennium Station in downtown Chicago.

Our conversation started out pretty basic, making sure we had the right time for the next train. It’s incredible to me what a small world it can be when we put down some of our barriers. First it was just us three, then someone else came along, followed by two others. None of us knew eachother, but as we sat their waiting for the next train, we just started talking. "I hope they don’t charge me extra, there was nobody in the box office and the ticket machine was broken," this one lady said. "Meh, don’t worry about it, not your fault."

The little girl, Mia, was working hard trying to open my camera bag, while a girl who was about my age started talking to this guy she had just met. It’s funny, but in that moment, I felt a connection between all these people and all we were doing was having a conversation while waiting for the train. This girl went to a Lutheran Seminary in Chicago and of course I had to give her a hard time since I went to a Baptist college, all in good fun.

What was most interesting to me is that this girl, who had just met this guy at the train station, continued on their conversation the whole ride to our destination… as if they had known eachother for years.

And then I realized that the reason we don’t do this more often is because we often put up barriers: too scared to meet new people, too shy to start a conversation, afraid of what someone else might think of us.

The only thing that separates us as humans from truly connecting are our fears, inadequacies, and the "fronts" we put up to protect ourselves from getting hurt. But when you strip everyone down to the root of it all, we’re all human. We’ve all come to the world in the same way. What changes us is our life experiences: hurts, joys, pains, cultures, perspectives.

As I helped Mia open up my camera bag and showed her how to use my little "cheap" camera, I just couldn’t help but think to myself, "God, this is pretty awesome." It’s awesome to meet new people, to share in an experience with someone… however small that may be.

For me, it was showing a little girl how to use my camera… or asking the lady next to me how she was enjoying her book. Small pleasantries? Not from me. I felt a depth of sincerity from each person I talked to while waiting for that 2:10 train. I’ve had other encounters with people and I wish I could share them all, but I won’t… not for now at least. I’m just thinking that experience at the train station gave me a lot to think about. And I’m so glad that I got to meet those people, even if I never see them again.