When we were asked to write this piece for Austrian Philosophy, we immediately paused to think about how many pages of the internet we would need to fill – it was a bit of a you’re going to need a bigger boat moment – yes, we also promised to get a random Jaws reference in there somewhere.
Fortunately though, with a bit of careful thought and inspiration from a variety of sources, we think we’ve taken a good crack at it and in the process, have hopefully delivered something of interest.
The word Sonder derives from the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows, it’s classified as an invented word by John Koenig, it’s use is not widespread but it is incredibly poignant and relevant to us all – a word which although is little known, represents a feeling that is widely experienced.
To sonder generally means to realise that other people are living their own lives around us. Lives that are equally as complex as our own, each with their own difficulties, hurdles to cross and packages of joy to unravel.
It is, in other words, the realisation that although the strangers around us are a mere extra in our own story, a stranger drinking coffee in the corner of the cafe or a an office worker searching for deposit offers whilst riding the morning commuter train. Each of these people are in that moment living their lives, experiencing their own highs and lows, which may originate from similar or totally different places to your own. Continue reading “To ‘Sonder’ The Fascinating Reality of Lives Around Us”