It takes no effort whatsoever to look up make eye contact with someone and say hello. Instead of staring down at the concrete as you’re walking to your bus make an effort look over at the person walking towards you, connect with them, and just say hello. You could even do the little nod where you throw your head back slightly and do a quarter smile out one side of your mouth. It’s can be kind and friendly.
It hardly takes any effort at all. It’s a word commonly understood in most languages. And even if it’s not people understand eye contact and a nod. It is equally easy to pretend they don’t exist and just keep walking by. But why do we choose to ignore the living breathing person sharing space on Earth with us?
People are awesome. They make life interesting. Provide new and different perspectives and ideas that can change us for the better. They’re even nice to look at sometimes. (Hello? Christina Hendricks anyone?) They can be funny and provide enriching conversation. And even though we are all comfortable with our heads down and face to our phones people do want that connection. That human connection.
Next time you’re walking down the hall at work or walking down the street on the way to the bus or in the freezer aisle at the grocery store, instead of staring down, make the effort to look up and into someone’s eyes and just say hello. Fight our disconnectedness from each other one hello at a time.
Note: You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do and I do try to respect people’s personal space. You don’t have to go around getting in people’s faces to say hello. Pay attention to their body language. Maybe if they have their headphones on or nose in a book they don’t want to be talked to. And that’s ok. I choose to talk to people because I enjoy it and it makes my day better. But it’s not what’s best for everyone. I really appreciate feedback on the silly things I write. So please comment if you want to. Thanks for reading.
Here, in our culture, it is a nice and acceptable practice to smile, nod or otherwise give an innocuous and pleasant acknowledgement to strangers. And you’re right, we don’t do it enough! In some cultures, though, it just isn’t done. In many European countries, females are taught not to engage in eye contact or smile at strange men because it can be misconstrued as an invitation to conversation. An old French professor of mine used to love recounting his amazement when he first walked across a college campus here as a student. The girls all smiled at him and made eye contact–he was over the moon!
Thanks for bringing up such a great point. While I think I’m being clever I often forget that there are so many varied reasons why people might not like or be inclined or comfortable with interacting in this way. It’s relatively easy for me but that doesn’t mean it’s that way for anyone else. I think this is a more layered topic than I anticipated. I really appreciate the insights and thank you for reading.