PEOPLE-WATCHING ON YOUR COMMUTE

观察别人的快乐

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.

过分追求快乐，快乐就会从你的指间溜走。获得快乐的窍门就是让它在你不经意间来到你身边。沉醉在自己想象中时是我最快乐的时候。

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.

我喜欢观察别人，然后想象出他们的故事。上下班途中是做这个的最佳时机。无论穷富老少，每个人都会使用公共交通工具。

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

我会在很多地方找到线索，比如鞋子的款式、指甲的样子和笑纹的深度。

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.

我观察的时候可以不盯着别人看，而智能手机的出现让观察变得更容易了。人们的注意力总是在他们的电子设备上，很少会抬头。

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

而且人们想要打发时间的时候通常会看旧邮件或者给朋友发信息，内容总是很有趣的。

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

我喜欢称之为小说家的想象，不过你也可以说是八卦。