A Friendly Hello
Today I am grateful for a weekend at home after several busy travel weekends in succession. I am also grateful for a friendly hello and a holding of a door from a fellow human.
I was out doing errands yesterday and stopped at the post office. As I was about to go in the door, a woman I didn't know came out, held the door for me with a smile. I said "thank you" and she replied with a "have a nice day." I appreciated that brief interaction and it was something I likely would have done too if I had been the one coming out with someone else going in.
In today's society, we are busy, frazzled, connected to our technology. It would seem we would be well-connected to one another; considering that we can communicate instantly in a variety of ways. It would seem, but it doesn't feel like the reality. The reality, to me, feels like we are getting more disconnected and isolated because we aren't looking one another in the eye, we aren't sharing a smile because we are focused on the next thing we must run to do, and so on.
Slow down. That is all it takes. A few seconds to interact with fellow humans in the ways that really matter. It would serve us all well to keep doing this in our homes and workplaces, but also out in the general public. After that brief exchange with the pleasant stranger at the post office. I paid more attention. I would like to think I slow down and pay pretty good attention already. It is one of the healthy side effects of gratitude practice. But there is always room for improvement.
So, I paid more attention and what I saw and felt was heartening. There were many friendly faces, hellos, helping hands all around. It may seem like people crave technology fixes. I think we are craving human interaction. I saw people I knew and could greet by name, but I also saw strangers who are really just fellow humans trying to make the most of the day in front of them.
If I am too busy to muster a friendly hello, I have gotten caught up in the wrong things. Slow down. Notice one another. It can be that simple. It is that simple.
I was out doing errands yesterday and stopped at the post office. As I was about to go in the door, a woman I didn't know came out, held the door for me with a smile. I said "thank you" and she replied with a "have a nice day." I appreciated that brief interaction and it was something I likely would have done too if I had been the one coming out with someone else going in.
In today's society, we are busy, frazzled, connected to our technology. It would seem we would be well-connected to one another; considering that we can communicate instantly in a variety of ways. It would seem, but it doesn't feel like the reality. The reality, to me, feels like we are getting more disconnected and isolated because we aren't looking one another in the eye, we aren't sharing a smile because we are focused on the next thing we must run to do, and so on.
Slow down. That is all it takes. A few seconds to interact with fellow humans in the ways that really matter. It would serve us all well to keep doing this in our homes and workplaces, but also out in the general public. After that brief exchange with the pleasant stranger at the post office. I paid more attention. I would like to think I slow down and pay pretty good attention already. It is one of the healthy side effects of gratitude practice. But there is always room for improvement.
So, I paid more attention and what I saw and felt was heartening. There were many friendly faces, hellos, helping hands all around. It may seem like people crave technology fixes. I think we are craving human interaction. I saw people I knew and could greet by name, but I also saw strangers who are really just fellow humans trying to make the most of the day in front of them.
If I am too busy to muster a friendly hello, I have gotten caught up in the wrong things. Slow down. Notice one another. It can be that simple. It is that simple.
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