Does crossing paths with strangers freak you out, even a little?

I don’t even think about that stuff.

I do that with every person I see. Every single day.
I used to obsess over it..I can sort of channel it in certain imaginative directions now so it doesn’t eat away at me that I’ll never ever know. I can’t stand it.

Oh yes, although I’ve never thought of it as freaking out. It strike me as perfectly natural. I’d even say that it’s the compartmentalization of individuals into their own personal shells that strikes me as aberrant.

From a philosophical point of view, Zen provides a context for experiences like this. These are moments when you’re glimpsing the insubstantiality of the self/other barrier. The differentiation between self and other is an artificial one that we create ourselves. There are times when we let it fall, and at those times we experience identification with the other.

That can range in intensity, from the kind of intense interest that you describe up to complete falling away of the barrier- actually seeing others as yourself. The completeness of the identification depends on to what degree your own mind is enforcing the self/other separation

I feel the same way @shilolo. I wonder if the interaction is one of those things that’s supposed to happen; and why I crossed paths with them. I also try & remind myself that everyone has a story. If someone seems sad or angry or distracted I try to imagine what their story is; I also often wonder what their impression is of me. What do they see when first glancing at me?

Sometimes I wonder about people I see or meet. It doesn’t freak me out. I might think they seem happy or sad or needing of help. I might think it’s neat to see someone doing whatever it is they’re doing. Sometimes the interaction is more than just wondering, and that can be neat. I can’t say it ever freaks me out, though, unless I happen to meet and talk with someone who has so much in common with me that it seems almost eerie.

Sometimes. I think of it as being imaginative. I think it means your are a keen observer and not totally self-absorbed.

Perhaps “freak you out” was a bit much. I meant to say, does the awareness of other (random) peoples’ lives spark introspection or wonder?

interesting, though sounds normal to me and at the same time sounds like an insecure type of thing, but hey everyone is diff likewise everyone’s a critic. Overall getting freaked with strangers in public just a matter of tapping into any insecurities within ya if applicable, otherwise that’s just a normal reaction.

the freaked with strangers I meant freaked out :-) not as in gettin freaky with’em.

I used to do this a lot when i was a kid riding my bike around. Id see all the passing cars and just think that each person in each car is going somewhere, doing something, and probably has a million problems in their life that theyre dealing with. To be honest thinking about all of it was a bit overwhelming. I dont do it as much anymore, but still happens from time to time.

I make a connection with every single stranger I cross but it’s in my head. It’s just that fleeting feeling of catching each other’s eye. Eyes are the most revealing of a person besides seeing them naked. It’s not necessarily a connection with that person, ‘cause who knows if they’re as crazy as I am to “feel” something in a crossing, haha. But I definitely do always wonder like what their “story” is and sometimes fantasize, if they’ve REALLY intrigued me just by walking by..about sitting down for coffee or something and just having an amazing conversation asking them questions all about their life, future, present, and past.

I rarely think like that. I am typically very self-absorbed always thinking of my destination, what I have to do there, who I have to meet, how soon I can leave. And my brain is full of a million such thoughts, mostly all about planning. “Did I do this yet? When do I need to have this paper turned in by? When am I supposed to meet this person for lunch. OH SHIT, I HAVE TO MEET THAT PERSON FOR LUNCH TODAY???? Crapppppp I totally forgot I told someone else I will meet them to help them with some studying. Why don’t I ever buy a personal calendar? This would never happen if I was more organized. Crap. Crap. Crap. Must call person A and cancel. Hmmm look at the time. Why is traffic so slow???? I am going to be lateeeee. Ohhh person X hates it when I am late.”

And then on the occasional day when I don’t have any particular place to go and am just relaxing/out for a walk/drive, then I’ll really take the time to observe my surroundings. Then whenever I see someone looking even partially interesting, I’ll make up their life story in my mind, and make up a reason for why they are at that place, where they are going, etc etc. But majority of the time, my mind is more in a crazy, “all over the place” stage.

All the time.

Sometimes I look at lanes of traffic and wonder how peculiar it is, all of these people in these moving machines all facing the same direction. At that moment, organized along this great arc of concrete. But ready to disperse into the hum of their varied lives.

Especially those with a set pattern (commute, coffee in the morning, etc.),
they must pass the same people every day and yet not know a thing about them.

Depending on my mood, this kind of thinking can both calm and freak me out.

hmmm, interesting… i think many things about people i pass by/look at, but have never felt that we ‘interacted.’ I often wonder how those people might react to whatever I was thinking about at the time, and what they might say to me if they knew me etc…

I do. I sometimes wonder what they are talking about and where they are going and if they are happy and friendly. Sometimes I give a wave and always get one back.