Life could be really exhausting. Especially nowadays.

Everybody’s sprinting toward something –  but what if, for a second, you simply stop I look around…

…yes, welcome to people-watching,

the sport of kings, the hobby of philosophers, the sole free show that does not involve arguing on a comment page.

Why people-watching is the epitome of culture

Forget the Louvre. The real masterpieces are being acted out on the corner of the street. A guy trying to walk and eat a sandwich and text at the same time. A woman speed-walking in high heels as if she’s late to an Olympic track event. A couple fighting with voices that are definitely volume up.

People-watching is seeing unedited humanity. It’s sitting in the front row of the real life—the odd date, the person who just remembered something humiliating from 2009, the too-comfortable-on-the-subway guy who makes eye contact.

How to do it without being creepy

Step one: be discreet. If you stare too hard, congratulations, you’re now the creep in someone else’s people-watching adventure.

Step two: don’t judge—observe. People watching is not about judging, it’s about noticing. The way people walk, the way they interact. Those are the little stories being shared with you.

Step three: let your imagination do the work. Who is that guy aggressively pacing while on a phone call? Why is that woman carrying a single shoe? Did she lose the other one.

The world is a live performance. The script is unwritten. And you’re lucky enough to have a front-row seat.

What’s in it for you?

People-watching reorientates you. It keeps you grounded, at the moment, reminding you that life is happening right here, not on a device.

Most importantly, it keeps you in mind that, despite how nuts everything is, we’re just a bunch of goofy little humans doing our best to figure the things out—one problem at a time.

Go get a seat, pretend you’re having your coffee, and watch humanity do its thing. It’s free, it’s weird, and the best part—nobody’s trying to sell you anything.