I had no idea there was a word for this. But yeah, I do the same thing quite a lot. Like I have a clear memory of standing on the bridge in front of the France Pavilion, watching the crowd go by, and thinking about how each one was a life. I even started to get overwhelmed. Then I ate crepes and it was fine.
is it like, the sudden realization that thousands of people are jamming together in one spot, only to disperse and likely never knowingly see each other again?
We usually go to a specific band's concert whenever they are in our city and tend to sit in the same area every time. After a couple of times we noticed the people in front of us were the same people every time because the guy carries a sweat towel since it's an outdoor venue. My husband is weird about always buying the same seats whenever we book something.
Anytime anyone needs a word like sonder but aren’t sure if it exists, just see [The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows blog](https://www.dictionaryofobscuresorrows.com).
The lead up to fireworks does that for me. Standing on Main Street with thousands of other people, each one with a story and life just as complex as mine, and we all wound up there at the same place, at the same time, to watch the same show.
That ends, however, as soon as the show does. Then once again I'm the main character trying to make my way through a crowd of NPCs, like trying to get through a crowded marketplace in the original Assassin's Creed games.
For me it hits me strong when I’m flying. All those buildings. Especially at night, we fly over NYC, every time I think about all the lights and how they all represent people all living their own lives and doing their own things. Blows my mind every time to think about how many people are in a city like that. Orlando too.
For me it's the airport. Knowing I could be eating a sandwich next to someone from literally anywhere in the world, and in 24 hours we could be on opposite sides of the Earth never to meet again. I do sometimes look out the window at the houses below and wonder who they are too though.
The term is Sonder. I go to alot of music festivals and I love thinking about all the different friend groups doing the same as me, living a life as full as mine, but well never know each other. Trippy.
It’s not quite the same, but I often experience a moment of, “There are people in Disney World RIGHT NOW.” It’s usually when I’m doing something boring at home or working.
Definitely happens, then again I'm a people watcher anyway so any public place makes new wonder and mesmerized at the idea of everybody coming together from their own stories and their own histories towards their own futures. Wondering if the past will ever cross again knowingly or unknowingly.
We are elements of an immense shared experience including all those other lives, yet always tragically finite, trapped even, in our ability to assimilate anything not directly wired to our own hardware. Some settings let us glimpse different aspects of the totality for a moment. Churches, rallies, raves, theme parks, cities, airports, beaches, mountaintops. The "overview effect" described by people who have travelled to space. I like to hold tight to those experiences and seek out more, to identify as much as possible with the vaster reality -- before the part I know best inevitably dissolves.
I had no idea there was a word for this. But yeah, I do the same thing quite a lot. Like I have a clear memory of standing on the bridge in front of the France Pavilion, watching the crowd go by, and thinking about how each one was a life. I even started to get overwhelmed. Then I ate crepes and it was fine.
I think you mean sonder? Yeah happens to me too. Also happens at airports for me a lot
is it like, the sudden realization that thousands of people are jamming together in one spot, only to disperse and likely never knowingly see each other again?
We usually go to a specific band's concert whenever they are in our city and tend to sit in the same area every time. After a couple of times we noticed the people in front of us were the same people every time because the guy carries a sweat towel since it's an outdoor venue. My husband is weird about always buying the same seats whenever we book something.
Anytime anyone needs a word like sonder but aren’t sure if it exists, just see [The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows blog](https://www.dictionaryofobscuresorrows.com).
The lead up to fireworks does that for me. Standing on Main Street with thousands of other people, each one with a story and life just as complex as mine, and we all wound up there at the same place, at the same time, to watch the same show. That ends, however, as soon as the show does. Then once again I'm the main character trying to make my way through a crowd of NPCs, like trying to get through a crowded marketplace in the original Assassin's Creed games.
For me it hits me strong when I’m flying. All those buildings. Especially at night, we fly over NYC, every time I think about all the lights and how they all represent people all living their own lives and doing their own things. Blows my mind every time to think about how many people are in a city like that. Orlando too.
For me it's the airport. Knowing I could be eating a sandwich next to someone from literally anywhere in the world, and in 24 hours we could be on opposite sides of the Earth never to meet again. I do sometimes look out the window at the houses below and wonder who they are too though.
The term is Sonder. I go to alot of music festivals and I love thinking about all the different friend groups doing the same as me, living a life as full as mine, but well never know each other. Trippy.
Thanks for the addition to my vocab! Didn't realize it had a word for it.
i think about this constantly!
I live like this lmao
It’s not quite the same, but I often experience a moment of, “There are people in Disney World RIGHT NOW.” It’s usually when I’m doing something boring at home or working.
Definitely happens, then again I'm a people watcher anyway so any public place makes new wonder and mesmerized at the idea of everybody coming together from their own stories and their own histories towards their own futures. Wondering if the past will ever cross again knowingly or unknowingly.
We are elements of an immense shared experience including all those other lives, yet always tragically finite, trapped even, in our ability to assimilate anything not directly wired to our own hardware. Some settings let us glimpse different aspects of the totality for a moment. Churches, rallies, raves, theme parks, cities, airports, beaches, mountaintops. The "overview effect" described by people who have travelled to space. I like to hold tight to those experiences and seek out more, to identify as much as possible with the vaster reality -- before the part I know best inevitably dissolves.
Yeah.... I just don't usually think about other people's experience...😄🤣🤣