_{Letters to strangers}

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Yes,

I saw you there a few days back, staring blindly at the strawberries with a stressed look on your face. I was awestruck at the way your brown hair flowed in your face, but you could still see the vivid, dark circles under your eyes. I don't know you, but I'm still worried.

I walked by to get a gallon of milk, and you didn't even seem to finch, only to stare at the strawberries. I couldn't quite figure out what was so interesting about the red fruit - granted they've delicious, yes, but I don't quite think they're in the right place to be worshiped on that level (at least, not in the middle of a grocery store). But I knew that wasn't what it was about. It's understandable given what everyone and everything is going through at the moment.

I wish people didn't scare me - and I wish I hadn't been so emotionally yielded to not talk to you, else I would've told you this -

We've only got one chance at life. Only one. Yes, we have every day to fall asleep, we have every day to wake up, eat, think about what we don't have, what we should have, what we need to have. We have every day to wish that things will get better. We have every day in that life to sit back and watch it all unfold. But, why would you do that, when you only have one life?

I wish I could've told you to just get the strawberries, take a deep breath, and that it was going to be a ok. And I know I can't promise that, but I figure once you realized that it could be ok, you would've made it ok. You would've realized that you can't sit back and wish for it to get better - you have to go out and do it for yourself.

We don't need the newest phone that comes out. That iPod won't make you happy. If our computer breaks - maybe that's a sign that we need to take a look outside, go get connected with friends and family or... dare I say it? Read a book. If the strawberries look delicious but you just can't afford them - make a mental note to grow some. You'll be happier out in the sun. Spring is here, life is coming back, you shouldn't have that shadowed look from winter, anymore. The sun is your hope - you can see it again, it's not clouded by a maze of tunnels and clouds.

Go make some cookies, give them to your neighbors. Everyone goes through their rough points. Everyone. But you can get through it without reveling in the fact that your upset. You can get through it without a therapist, without pills, without telling every single one of your friends that your life is going to end.

I wish I could've told you to take a deep breath,
and to stop staring and just get the strawberries.