The Weight of Being One Among Many
SONDER
Oxford describes it as the profound feeling of realizing that everyone, Including strangers passing in the street, has a life as complex as one's own which they are constantly living despite one's personal lack of awareness of it.
But....
What do you mean I'm not the main character?
What do you mean other people go through different phases too?
What do you mean everyone is just as special as me?
What do you mean the world doesn't revolve around me?
What do you mean my family and friends aren't side characters?
These were the questions I asked when I first realized this.
Now I ask:
If everyone has feelings, dreams, and regrets, do I have to consider them all?
For a long time, I thought I was the only one who felt deeply. Everyone else was just background noise.
To be honest, I still can't come to terms with it.
Not because I think I'm better than them.
On the contrary, I know that so many people are superior to me.
My problem is, I think I'm more important.
Yes, I have Main Character Syndrome.
That is why it's so hard to come to terms with Sonder
But if everyone is living their own story, what does that mean for mine especially as a Christian?
Philippians 2:3 says, "Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves."
In context, Paul was telling us to be more like Christ.
So as a Christian, I had to curb that syndrome.
Because of the Love I have for Christ, 1 had to come to terms with Sonder.
Now when I see strangers, I wonder what chapter they're in not whether I'm in theirs.
Sondertaught me humility. Christ taught me love. Together, they taught me I was never the only story being written.
D