While laboring through a recent session on the elliptical, Depeche Mode jumped into my earbud rotation, belting out, “People are people, so why should it be, you and I should get along so awfully?”

People are people. I had to smile because all I needed to do was look around the gym to see that the band was singing truth. There were elderly folks plugging away on various machines, still boldly fighting the good fight against advancing age; younger folks hoisting weights and pausing every few reps to check themselves out in the mirror (in my experience, a mirror is often the most-used piece of equipment in a gym); and folks sporting everything from neon spandex to street clothes.

One of my favorite all-time “people are people” moments: A few years back, I was stopped at a red light in front of a retirement community when a pedestrian on the nearby sidewalk caught my eye. She was a striking, elderly Asian woman I assumed lived in the retirement area, impeccably dressed and carrying herself with an unmistakable stately dignity. She was intriguing. But, just before the light changed, I heard some vigorous throat-clearing sounds coming from her direction and, just as I turned, she quite unceremoniously (and impressively) spat on the sidewalk. As I drove off, I’m pretty sure I saw the beginnings of a smile.

People are people, and sometimes just need a good expectoration.

Eating in a local diner, I once saw a family of four eating and celebrating the birthday of one of the children. Two customers seated nearby paid their bill and left, only to return a few minutes later with a small birthday cake they’d purchased from a nearby grocery store. The birthday boy was thrilled, and I’m betting it made the day for both groups involved.

People can do some pretty cool stuff.

On the other hand, in another local restaurant, my wife had ordered her burger cooked medium rare and when it came, it had overstayed its time on the grill and was closer to medium well. We asked for another, so the first burger was whisked away and replaced surprisingly quickly. It was, however, no closer to medium rare. We raised no further protest, finished, and left. It wasn’t until later that it dawned on us that they had probably just waited a bit in the kitchen and then brought the same burger back out.

People are going to pull some stuff.

In a nursing home once, a patient I know got angry and defensive with a nurse who was just trying to care for her, treating her quite poorly. Had I been the nurse, I would have probably left the room to let things cool down. Instead, in middle of the patient’s rant, she walked over to the woman and planted a kiss on her cheek. The woman, initially stunned, couldn’t help but laugh, defusing the situation almost immediately.

You never know what people might do.

And that’s part of the beauty of being a “people.” Interactions with the other peoples in our worlds are really what makes this ride we’re on worth the fare we sometimes pay. The unpredictable stuff, the cool stuff, even sometimes the not-so cool stuff is, in the end, the stuff of life. 

We spend a lot of time trying to show the world how unique we are—and we are undeniably and beautifully different. It struck me, though, as Depeche Mode wrapped up, that I wished we could spend more time focused on the ways we’re the same.