SONDER

“I was awake last night
and I could hear the beat
of every bounding broken heart 
in every chest on every street
It was like if wonder were a rhythm
branching like a tree
I could hear the hearts of strangers
who love as fiercely as me”

The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows defines the word SONDER as (n.) "the realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own—populated with their own ambitions, friends, routines, worries and inherited craziness—an epic story that continues invisibly around you like an anthill sprawling deep underground, with elaborate passageways to thousands of other lives that you’ll never know existed, in which you might appear only once, as an extra sipping coffee in the background, as a blur of traffic passing on the highway, as a lighted window at dusk."

Webster’s Dictionary doesn’t recognize this word. 

Whether or not the word is real, the definition is true. 

It might be a Hallmark Holiday, but we sure can use a day devoted to Love. (Capitol L intended)  Feel that almost painful pang of connection in your heart, and know that feeling is shared by everyone around you for the ones in their long and short of it. Recognizing other people’s story, devotion, and beauty is a great way to feel our own present moment that much more fully. Happy Valentine’s Day Lovers and Dreamers. 

my heart grows every day because of these two.