Eight Billion Stories

Understanding the Diversity of Human Experience

Photo by Cris Tagupa on Unsplash

I am trying something new: essays. New things scare me because I am the ultimate creature of habit. Writing essays that are not focused on theology, church politics, or the latest New Times’ Bestseller in the category of theology is an invitation that I am extending myself to breathe and to use my writing as a respite from the busyness of church.

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A few years ago, I received Brandon Stanton's Humans of New York as a Christmas gift. I was excited about the book because, frankly, it seemed like an easier read than many of the theology books I have in my to-read pile.

As I flipped through the pages on Christmas morning and then began to read the stories of the people in the photographs, along with carefully examining the accompanying images, I realized that I had no idea how vast and diverse the human experience is. Think about it. There are 7.9(ish) billion people in the world. That is, nearly 8 billion different bodies all do the same essential functions – breathing, hearts pumping blood, walking to the bathroom in the morning, and so on – and still, there are 8 billion different experiences happening simultaneously. Eight billion different ways of maneuvering through the day. Eight billion different agendas and routines. Sure, many of us have similar experiences, but how we move through the day varies to the extent that I could never wrap my head around.