.. People Watching should be a sport. If you define a sport as something that A) is fun, B) is good for you and C) teaches you something. One of the best things about people watching is it teaches you that there is infinite variety in the world. Literally every person that you meet is totally unique. I think that people watching is a lot like enjoying nature for that reason. Nature is also nothing but a display of unlimited uniqueness. Everything that you see in nature is unique. As the saying goes, no two snowflakes are the same.

Why is it that a jagged landscape on the horizon looks beautiful, but a row of cookie-cutter manufactured homes all painted the same color looks ugly? There is something so compelling about this. Something in us craves uniqueness, maybe it is because it is the natural state of all living things on the Earth. Maybe we inherently look for things to match the uniqueness that we all have within us. Whatever the reason, I’ve noticed that, for me at least, truly beautiful things are unique.

Nothing supports this thought more than having a child. Now that I have two, I am amazed at how totally different they are. Of course our first is a boy and our second child is a girl, so there is an obvious difference there, but the differences go so much further than physiology. They come to Earth totally and completely distinct, unique individuals. There is really nothing more beautiful in this world than seeing a perfectly unique new little life come into the world. It instantly makes you realize that we are all a part of a big picture and the drama that is playing out in our lives is a long string of irreplaceable, distinct, unique experiences.

This is one reason I love music so much. I love that every time I play I am participating in something completely unique--a moment in time that will never return. I feel lucky to have a lot of unforgettable moments playing music.

Ryan Shupe & The Rubberband on iLike - Add iLike to your MySpace