Strangers...

Would you leave your house keys with a stranger ? Ask a stranger to look after your baby in a pram whilst you pop into the grocery store ? I am sure for most of us the answer would be a resounding "No".
Yet, I am sure many of us have at some point of time or the other, confided in a stranger. That unknown person on the long flight next to you, that random person like you stuck on the bus in a traffic jam, that online chat buddy. Sharing a personal problem, a secret, a work frustration or the understanding of being in the same situation. Why ? Because we know that that person doesn't know us, doesn't know the person in the problem, doesn't know who your secret is about and mostly you will never meet this stranger again. So you share more, because you feel safe. And most importantly this person doesn't know your past or history and hence has no fixed and biased opinion of you. Not having this bias or preconceived opinion, most will admit that at some point or the other they have received valuable advice or help from a stranger.
Yet it is our fixed opinion that prevents us from leaving the key to our flat with the stranger of a neighbour you don't know. Or asking that stranger to watch you kid at the park whilst you talk on the phone. Strange paradox isn't it. And another marvelous example of how fascinating the human mind is....