Because the fact of the matter is

There’s a girl outside playing saxophone and I'm listening.

Every night she stands outside and plays her saxophone. Even though it’s freezing and dark. I don’t know why she’s out there…. Maybe her roommates don’t like the noise. Maybe she prefers the cold. At any rate, I always open my window to listen.

I don’t think she knows I do this every night. I doubt she knows I can hear her from across the street. From all I know, we don't know each other. I do not know her name or any other demographics. She does not know me. Out of all the windows in my building, she would not know that mine is open for the express purpose of hearing her play. And yet, it is.

I do know some things though. I know she practices scales with particular vigor. I know she struggles with her E scale. I know she plays with certain vibrance: each note is a tiny crescendo. I know she plays some jazz. I know she stands facing the street. I know she wears a scarf. I know she stops playing at 10 pm. And I know how I feel when she plays.

I could shut my window because it’s cold outside. Or because the noise bothers me sometimes. Or because the passing cars drown out a large portion of what she plays. I could try to ignore her existence. It’s not like I have to listen. 

But the thing is, she's a saxophone player because someone is listening. And I'm a listener because someone is playing. So often, I live my life as though I am the only one in the world because my own qualities -  industriousness, self-sufficiency, empathy, etc -  are important to me. And yet, I would not have any of these things if it were not for other people. I am only self-sufficient because I have little desire for others to help me. I am only empathetic because there are others to feel empathy for. I am only industrious because there are those who are not. I am only me because of you. 

Here and now we're bombarded with self self self. As if we exist as individuals with inherent qualities that do not depend on anyone else. I'm not sure if that's true. 

Because the fact of the matter is, there’s still a girl outside playing saxophone every night and I'm listening.