Over the last few days I have been reading Douglas Coupland‘s book, The Gum Thief. It has caused me to reflect on a number of things including the following question in my life:

How many times do we interact with people (Staples, Starbucks, Esso, etc.) and are oblivious – even ignorant – to the pain and loneliness that is beneath the surface of the people we regularly interact with? Why are we like this and how can we change?

There is no easy answer to this one but the question is a good beginning.