Yes, the blog title is a song. I was scrolling through the playlist for Cryptobyte and Crash into Me got me thinking. We all know that ‘every contact leaves a trace’, right? That’s the underpinning for forensic science. (‘Every contact leaves a trace’ is also known as ‘Locard’s exchange principle’.)
You don’t have to physically crash into someone to leave a trace. People you meet, however you do that, leave a trace.
They don’t have to touch you. Their presence leaves a memory. It may or may not become a long term important memory.

Question … how often do you vary your pattern/routine when leaving the house and going wherever?
Most people don’t. We go from A to B without thought. Autopilot kicks in when everything is familiar.
I decided, when I was teaching my crime writing course this term, that I would vary my pattern to and from Wellington High School. I also decided to look for familiar people as I walked. If someone looked familiar I noted it and asked myself where I’d seen them before.
Was it on the train?
Was it in the city?
What were they doing in the city?
Where did they come from?
Did they notice me?
A couple of times I varied the streets I took because I saw someone familiar leaning in a doorway.
What were they doing there?
Were they waiting for someone?
I wasn’t just walking from A to B I was mindful of my surroundings and the people moving about in the city. I’ve walked up and down from Wellington High School a lot. It would be easy to do that on autopilot and I do, don’t get me wrong, I definitely do. I made a conscious decision to switch off autopilot and ramp up situational awareness and to breathe.
And I enjoyed the walk far more. I was noticing things that I never really took note of before including sounds and smells. At 8:30 in the morning the most prevalent smells in the city are those of coffee and the delicious aroma of coffee didn’t leave the air until I got to Taranaki Street.
On the way back at lunchtime the coffee was joined by a mixture of cooking bacon, baking bread, and various other café aromas. The other thing that joined in on the way back was a mix of perfume and cologne. There were more people around and it stands to reason that they would add to the scents in the air.

Sometimes it’s a good idea to turn off the autopilot and be present. 🙂