So I was rewatching a couple of Vsauce videos when Michael mentioned "The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows", and at first my teenage brain thought "Wow, that sounds pretty angsty", but then he took a word from the dictionary: Sonder, and read its definition. sonder n. the realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own—populated with their own ambitions, friends, routines, worries and inherited craziness—an epic story that continues invisibly around you like an anthill sprawling deep underground, with elaborate passageways to thousands of other lives that you’ll never know existed, in which you might appear only once, as an extra sipping coffee in the background, as a blur of traffic passing on the highway, as a lighted window at dusk. This was like a giant pleasant slap to the face to me. I'd already experienced this 'sonder' a couple of years ago, and ever since then, I accepted it as a matter of fact. It was familiar and yet not at the same time since I didn't know how to make sense of it-- true, I do know how it feels, but I still didn't know what it was. And now that I know what it is, it's a lot more easier to accept. Anyways, there are a lot more words on the dictionary's site and youtube videos, so go check those out! http://www.dictionaryofobscuresorrows.com https://www.youtube.com/user/obscuresorrows
I believe that everyone is the protagonist of their own life while at the same time being a minor character in other people's lives.
Wow this is interesting. I clicked on the link and "midding" and "onism" are fitting too, I really like it when people are socializing near you, and you can but don't have to participate
Everyone is a background character, even in their own story, no matter how much of a protagonist they think they are.
Decide to take a look and well... Holy F*CK this is totally me midding v. intr. feeling the tranquil pleasure of being near a gathering but not quite in it—hovering on the perimeter of a campfire, chatting outside a party while others dance inside, resting your head in the backseat of a car listening to your friends chatting up front—feeling blissfully invisible yet still fully included, safe in the knowledge that everyone is together and everyone is okay, with all the thrill of being there without the burden of having to be.