You might miss something special in the everyday🙄

     As a society, we constantly seek out new experiences to keep life exciting and stave off boredom. But in doing this, we run the risk of missing something special that is right in front of us and that we never noticed before.
     Take the Shibuya Scramble Crossing, for instance. Before the COVID pandemic set in, over three thousand pedestrians would cross every green light. The Scramble Crossing is one of the most popular sightseeing spots in Japan for foreigners. Those of us who live in the area find this incredible and cannot understand why someone would want to spend their free time visiting this intersection. To us, it is just one way to get where we are going.
     The hustle and bustle of this busy street, with so many people crossing at once is an interesting sight for foreigners. Two cafes, Starbucks and the L’OCITANE café, are located on the second floor of their buildings and have a great view of the intersection. Some tourists have been known to spend a couple of hours in the café, looking down on the people walking by. Rainy days seem to be especially exciting, because the streets are filled with umbrellas of every color. It is both vibrant and dynamic. Actually, I’ve even seen several international visitors take photos of the crossing pedestrians to keep as a memory forever.

     A friend of mine who lives in France was amazed at how we can cross such a busy street without bumping into one another. Of course, being raised in Japan, I can also cross the Shibuya Scramble Crossing smoothly. I actually never gave it a second thought, as crossing seems very natural to me. My friend thinks there must be shared unspoken rules about crossing that you would never see abroad.

 
     To me, it is sad that most people take this experience for granted and treat it as nothing special. More people should stop and marvel at the beauty of what is right in front of them.
     Something that seems completely ordinary to you might be turn out to be something special. All you need to do is look around your world with discerning eyes, and you may find yourself in a happier place than you originally thought.