We are ‘supposed’ to celebrate the differences in people. Viva La Différence. Variety is the Spice of Life. And I get it; the differences between people are what keeps the world going and makes life exciting. If we were all clones, life would be incredibly dull. But what I will never understand is unfriendly people and I downright dislike nasty, mean people. The ‘experts’ say that you are supposed to be your own oasis and not let others get to you; however, as a friendly, outgoing person, I do feel slighted or hurt by others’ unfriendly actions.
Let me paint a picture for you and you tell me if it is normal, human behavior. You are walking down a hallway at work (mind you, this is at a relatively small business office with ~ 50 people) and you come face to face with someone, to which you automatically greet the person with a “Good Morning”. The other person merely looks down and keeps on walking, with no acknowledgement whatsoever.
Now I could understand having the point of view of not wanting to be friendly to strangers, if you are out in public. And I know that people will fight for the introverts here, saying only the extroverts are outwardly friendly. But in a small office work setting…where you are every weekday…with a relatively small group of people…seriously? I will truly never get it. In fact, I can honestly say that I have had friendlier encounters when passing a stranger out in public.
I often wonder how these people get along in life. Maybe they are able operate by just depending on themselves, being centered within themselves, not needing or caring about others. But I have problems with this theory. For one reason, the majority of these people have families: parents, significant others, some even have children; in other words, they do have interactions with loved ones. And even if they did not have any family, they would still have to interact with people for all facets of their life (grocery stores, doctors, etc.). So all I can conclude is that they are just unfriendly people, for whatever reason. The other reason I have a problem with this whole ‘you are your own island, your only concern is yourself,’ theory, is that the resulting world would be a very cold place to live. Caring about others, and feeling connected to others, is what helps you get through this life. It makes the hard times more bearable and the good times more enjoyable.
Well, I for one, choose to be nice. And have no doubt, it is a choice.
Addendum: I had just finished writing this entry when I found out that a good friend of mine has ovarian cancer and has to have a complete hysterectomy in two days. (Even more worrisome regarding this news is that she had breast cancer 3 years ago.) This only reinforces my message:
Life is short. Be nice.
Passionately and Compassionately Yours,
Me
Motivational Moment:
Today’s Moment is another of Life’s Little LaughablesTM:
We celebrated Thanksgiving with my husband’s family last weekend. And one of our traditions is to have everyone name at least one thing for which they are thankful. I like starting with the kids because it is nice to hear their thoughts. We had the older kids (ages 8 – 13) go first so that they younger kids would have a clue as to what to do. The older kids have been through this and knew the ‘routine’, hence they quickly mumbled the typical “friends, family, food” type of responses. My 5 year-old niece went next and said (in her sweet little voice), “I am thankful for butterflies and friends and family.” It was absolutely precious. I love the sweet innocence of youth!
May you all have many things for which you are thankful.
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