A past time which I thoroughly enjoy is that of people watching. Observing humans is a great way to kill time. I've especially found that public transport provides the perfect environment this activity. Confined space, bright lights and shared oxygen all combine to produce textbook conditions for watching others.
Once (or maybe thirty one times) these textbook conditions have led to me nonchalantly strolling behind a particularly intriguing person, following them home, hiding in their bushes, stealing their underwear, finding used tissues in their garbage, removing hair from their hairbrush and collecting their toe nail clippings. Some may refer to that as stalking. I prefer the term 'humanusobservious'. It's all relative.
In the time that I have been practitioner of humanusobservious I have come across a number of things.
Everyone has a story. A history. A childhood. An adolescence. An adulthood. Loves. Losses. Dreams. Defeats. It blows my mind that each and every person we walk past in the street, are served by at the supermarket and sit next to on public transport has a story.
Once (or maybe thirty one times) these textbook conditions have led to me nonchalantly strolling behind a particularly intriguing person, following them home, hiding in their bushes, stealing their underwear, finding used tissues in their garbage, removing hair from their hairbrush and collecting their toe nail clippings. Some may refer to that as stalking. I prefer the term 'humanusobservious'. It's all relative.
In the time that I have been practitioner of humanusobservious I have come across a number of things.
Everyone has a story. A history. A childhood. An adolescence. An adulthood. Loves. Losses. Dreams. Defeats. It blows my mind that each and every person we walk past in the street, are served by at the supermarket and sit next to on public transport has a story.
- The population of my suburb is 12050.
- The population of Melbourne is 3,806,092.
- The population of Australia is 21,573,009.
- The population of the World is 6,706,993,152.
- The population reference bureau estimates that the total number of people who have ever lived is approximately 106,000,000,000.
Looking at those numbers makes my head feel like its going to explode. If I think about how each one of those 106 billion people each had/have a life in all its complexity, its highly likely that I may have not-so-spontaneous case of spontaneous human combustion.
What increases the possibility of my potential combustion is the fact that God created every one of those 106 billion people. Let me put it this way, it means that God made:
- Two hundred and twelve billion eyes.
- One trillion and sixty billion individual fingers with unique finger prints for each one.
- One trillion one hundred sixty-six billion major human organ systems.
- Three trillion three hundred ninety-two billion teeth (not including your baby teeth).
- 2.1836 × 10 (to the square root of 13) different bones (I don't know what that equation means, but if it can't be expressed in normal numbers, it must be gargantuan).
If those figures don't give you a migraine, I don't know what will. The amazing thing is, despite the 106 billion different people God has created, you are one of a kind. One in 106 billion even.
For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. PSALM 139:13-16
If you haven't heard from me for a few days, it may be a possibility that I have spontaneously combusted.
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