Missed Meetings...

Am I the only person who thinks occasionally about the conversations that we so often don't have?

Those by-chance encounters in the parking lot, or coffee shop or university hallways… a quick smile or a brief wave exchanged that is never repeated… silence that is never broken…

I quite enjoy those meetings; I relish them, in-fact.

It's more and more rare to walk by someone on the side-walk and have your smiling eyes and warm glance returned, and I wonder why this is?

Are we afraid to reach out to others?
Is it the mystery that we're worried about?
Why is making a stranger's acquaintance such a discomforting thing?

Perhaps it's not really.

My father has always been the sort of fellow who talks to the person next to him in a queue. He is the man in the check-out line at the grocery store who makes a joke with his bright blue eyes all crinkled up in mirth and asks some sort of obvious question to get-the-ball-rolling and speak to the stranger.

I admire him for that. I have learned that it's much easier to talk to a stranger than I thought it would be, and that usually my harmless or warm comment is appreciated and my smile will be returned in kind.

Sometimes though, I'm amazed at the folks that pretend..

          Pretend they can't hear me.
          Pretend they're not responsive.
          Pretend they can't see the people or space around them.

Is it some sort of wacky survival instinct? Is this the same phenomenon that allows humans to become bystanders to a wrong-doing or injustice? To stop and stare and watch as though the scene in front of them was happening on a movie screen rather than real life?

This is why I won't stop inviting new and kind interactions into my life.

It doesn't always end up pleasantly, but it's very worth it to me when I consider the alternative of morphing into a numb and frightened individual.

When walking out to the parking lot, if I see a dog in the back seat of a Subaru, with a person sitting in the driver's seat, I will always smile and greet the dog and wave at the person, telling them they have a lovely animal companion.

Always.

Because I believe that sometimes, life's about noticing the little things.

Every one needs a reminder to be pleasant once in a while.

It takes much more effort and energy to be shut-off, anxiously guarded and awkward; or to be rude, unpleasant and perhaps mean.

Must remember to write about a few of my recently missed meetings.

Welcome back to the blog.