PEOPLE-WATCHING ON YOUR COMMUTE

觀察別人的快樂

By Daisy Waugh

黛西·沃

Chase after happiness too hard, and it evaporates between your fingers. The trick is to let it creep up on you unawares. I am happiest when I am lost in my own imagination.

過分追求快樂，快樂就會從你的指間溜走。獲得快樂的竅門就是讓它在你不經意間來到你身邊。沉醉在自己想象中時是我最快樂的時候。

I people-watch and try to work out what their story is. And the best place to do this is the dailycommute. Everybody uses public transport: rich, poor, old and young.

我喜歡觀察別人，然后想象出他們的故事。上下班途中是做這個的最佳時機。無論窮富老少，每個人都會使用公共交通工具。

I try to pick up clues from the shoes they wear, the state of their fingernails, the depth of their laughter lines.

我會在很多地方找到線索，比如鞋子的款式、指甲的樣子和笑紋的深度。

I have learned not to stare, and since the advent of smartphones, this has become a lot easier. Commuters tend to be so distracted by their electronic devices, they don’t often look up.

我觀察的時候可以不盯著別人看，而智能手機的出現讓觀察變得更容易了。人們的注意力總是在他們的電子設備上，很少會抬頭。

Also, people tend to kill their time by reading through old emails (always interesting) or by tapping out messages to friends (absolutely fascinating).

而且人們想要打發時間的時候通常會看舊郵件或者給朋友發信息，內容總是很有趣的。

I like to call it feeding my novelist’s imagination. But you could just call it nosy.

我喜歡稱之為小說家的想象，不過你也可以說是八卦。