Everyone is a stranger – until they are not

Friends, family, acquaintances, and even enemies are people you know. The cashier at your favorite grocery store, the guards in the malls, and anyone who we happen to have interaction with are not estranged from us. But how about those people who we do not know, who we are yet to meet? In layman’s terms, we often refer to those people as strangers.

People often say everyone is a stranger until they are not. That phrase represents exactly what truism is all about. In life, there are two groups to which people belong. One is the group consisting of who we know. Our families, friends, acquaintances, and even our enemies belong here. And the other one is intended for those people we do not know. Everyone we do not know falls into this group. And as basic as it seems, there is no one who fits into both groups at the same time. And there is no one who does not fit at all.

Everyone is a stranger

The very moment I moved here into the big city, I felt truly overwhelmed with various people estranged from me. Being in the vast jungle of high-rise buildings does not totally help at all. And as much as I hate to admit it, I knew no one, not even a single soul.

Truly, everyone is a stranger. These new faces I do not completely recognize, and the aura they possess were all new to me. Others often see this as something that would cage them from venturing into the world. But nor for me, though. I am more than willing to know their names and their story. By doing so, I am breaking the ice between us.

Breaking the ice

Strangers are friends we have not met yet, and I believe in it. Remember the moment when we just started making friends? We introduced ourselves first, right? For them to know who we are, at the very least, we tell them our names. And the rest follows, accordingly. At first, we are strangers to each another. And being estranged from one another is the very beginning of our friendships, at least for me.

By breaking the ice between anyone who we talk to for the first time, we then give an opportunity for them to enter into our lives, or us into theirs. We get to know their stories, and we get to know their names. But more than that, we also get to know who they are.

That is the beauty of life. Meeting new people, making new friends and memories. Indeed, everyone is a stranger, until they are not.