Riding public transportation is a little like going to the zoo

Right? Anyone who rides regularly knows what I'm talking about. There are all kinds of things to watch—some of the creatures do funny things, some are kind of icky, some are cute, some are fun to interact with, some smell weird, some are a little disturbing, and a few are even kind of scary. It's always interesting, though, and it can be educational. You know, broadening. A cultural experience. Me, venturing briefly out of my corner of the suburbs to watch other species live their lives.

When I first started riding the MAX regularly, I found all this all pretty entertaining. Kind of...compensation for the annoyance of being forced to share space with people I wouldn't particularly choose to share space with. I made a point of choosing a single seat whenever I could in order to minimize the space-sharing. I carefully focused my attention on my book, avoiding eye contact and discouraging conversation. I ignored other riders, except when I was amusing myself by posting the funny/rude/ignorant things they said on Facebook.

But then something happened

I've been a regular public transit rider for almost two years now, and something has changed. I've started to see these zoo exhibits as people. You know, human beings. People who are more like me than I'd like to admit. People who I could be if some of my circumstances were different. People who Jesus treasures.

Crazy, right?

I read Donald Miller's Blue Like Jazz recently¹ (largely during my MAX commute) and I keep coming back to a thought from that book about loving people. Miller talks about learning to love someone he initially found incredibly obnoxious, and he talks about love as being delighted at this guy's existence. This is the phrase that comes to mind often during my commute these days. The loud-mouthed teenager with an apparently limited vocabulary? Jesus is delighted at her existence. The smelly homeless guy taking up three seats with his stuff? Jesus is delighted at his existence. That guy who insists on playing games on his iPad with the sound turned up, while using his earbuds for his music? Ahem². Jesus is delighted at his existence. And hey, that smug suburban mom judging people around her while commuting from her comfortable home to her cushy part-time job? Yeah. Jesus is delighted at my existence.

Whoa

Changes the way you think about things, right? This new way of thinking is pretty, well, new to me. I wouldn't say that it's led to any life-changing³ encounters, but it has led me to give someone a smile rather than an inner eye-roll. It's led me to engage people around me in conversation, and to treat them like human beings rather than zoo exhibits. You know, kind of like Jesus might be doing if he was riding the MAX.

1. Yeah, I'm years late in reading it. I don't think I was ready for it when it was new, though, so it all worked out.

2. Dude, SERIOUSLY.

3. Other people's lives, I mean. It's definitely changing MY life.