Hidden Stories of Ordinary

Everyday things. Stuff that’s all around. It’s not just what it seems to be. It’s got a whole other dimension hidden from our eyes. We have to open our minds to be able to spot these marvelous treasures, that’s the only way we can reach them. So now just sit down, relax, let all the stress out and think.

Let’s say you’re sitting in a room. It’s a completely ordinary room, there’s nothing special about it, probably you’re quite familiar with it, so you don’t even notice it most of the time. It’s just always been here, silent background for life’s little dramas. Now focus on it. Realize it’s existence. Try to go through every little thing that’s in there, from door to the tiniest pencil on the table. Can you count every single thing that’s in there? Now you see there’s a lot of stuff actually, right?

There’s one absolutely amazing thing about all of this. Each of these little objects, which we don’t even realize that exists, has its own, unique and stunning story. Take for example your mobile phone, which you’re probably holding in your hand right now or have it somewhere close to you. It’s not just what it seems to be. It’s not just a lifeless chunk of cold hardware as it looks, no, it’s actually filled with life, stories and human spirit. You know it didn’t just appear in your hand out of nowhere, right? You bought it in a shop. In that shop, there was probably a shop assistant. Everyday he has to wake up to work, just as you do, to take care of the shop. To assist customers buying those phones. To order supply of new phones. It’s his daily bread, that’s what he does for living. Maybe he loves his job, maybe not, you never know. He has his own worries, passions, everyday troubles, friends, family, just everything that every human being has. But that’s just one tiny piece of your mobile’s story.

It had to get into that shop somehow. So there had to be truck drivers who rode with it through days, nights, on dangerous roads, highways, eating in fast foods along the way. There were people in stocks where it waited until it was picked up by another type of transport, cargo ship. It’s enormous, it has a big crew that guides it in the vast ocean. A lot of people now.

The phone was crafted somewhere, but even this isn’t as simple as it seems. It consists of many little parts, building blocks, that were made separately in separate companies and then assembled in another factory. And each of these little parts are made out of different materials which had to be mined or produced somewhere. So you have thousands of workers which were needed to put together your phone. Of course, you don’t have just workers in their companies, but each company also has to have its leadership and that adds another people to your phone.

Finally, there was also someone who designed your phone, many people. Someone had to design the software inside it. It’s also filled with patents and principles that someone has discovered a long time ago, but are crucial to your phone’s existence. People in marketing made sure that you won’t miss their company’s new phone, so they have to be part of this story as well.

So now you see, how big amount of work was necessary to let you hold that phone in your hand right now. And I even haven’t looked at that story closely! I haven’t looked at each people’s possible life story (because there are thousands of these people), their troubles and joys, but it’s important to know that those are there too! And remember, that your phone is just one of many objects that are now in your room. Each of these other objects has its own story, different people behind it. You can undertake similar journey with each and every of them and you have millions of possibilities. Happy mind wandering!

I hope you find this just as fascinating as I do. All those stories of people behind everything made, hidden from our sight, but undoubtedly there, waiting to be discovered. We should treat our things with greater respect, taking into consideration all of this, the other people’s care. It’s fascinating, right? And this is what we call civilisation. It’s so complex, unbelievably complex, out of our understanding, a true miracle of humanity. And we should be grateful for it, because our life’s comfort depends on it, if it wasn’t for the civilisation, we would have been just animals. We literally depend on each other and it’s very sad that many people don’t understand this fact.

So appreciate more those things that surround you, and respect more the people around you, because they’re truly important. We sometimes don’t understand what we have until we lose it. I hope this wouldn’t be that case.