Human Connection. An Everyday Challenge

There are people all around us. People are one of the few things we cannot escape from in this world. Of course, self-isolation is an option, but it seems like a pretty grim existence. After all, our greatest accomplishments in life really become significant when they are shared with someone who cares enough to stop and notice.

I am slowly realizing that no matter how happy I am, all of it slowly fades away without being able to share your joy as well as disappointment with another person. Take my current neighbor for example. Oad is an older Thai man who lives by himself with his cats and dogs to keep him company. They seem to be his life at the moment since his children have grown up and scattered all over the world, leaving him alone. He pours his heart out to his animals and to the lucky strangers, as myself, who get to enjoy his kindness and unconditional warmth. One morning he made me pad thai and another, he brought some proper English tea which he got as a present from his daughter. Wanting to repay him for his kindness I went out and bought him a little potted aloe vera plant as well as some fresh rambutans from the market.
I ran into Oad this morning while he was feeding some stray cats outside as he does everyday. I gave him the little presents I prepared for him as well as a pack of cigarettes I brought from India. Oad was so happy, he didn't know what to say besides saying "Thank you" over and over again. He seemed to not be too comfortable with receiving gifts, even such small ones. I assured him that it was my way of thanking him for being so nice and giving him something in return. I gave him a big hug and when I looked back at him, his eyes were starting to tear up.

My neighbor's kindness and openheartedness just confirmed something that I have come to learn as years have gone by; being kind to each other is a must in this world, because without humanity and basic human understanding, we don't have much left. We need to try and take time to show the ones we care about, how much they mean to us and how much we love them. We also could definitely work on showing kindness to people we don't know. Yes, of course, the world is full bad people; cheater, liars and those who do anything to get what they want. But we can't let ourselves forget about the good people that are still out there. Unfortunately, sometimes we have to meet many unkind people first, to lead finally lead us to those who will open our hearts little by little and push away resentment and fear, opening doors to a more meaningful existence.

There are so many people in this world (an understatement) and each day we mingle amongst hundreds of strangers, a lot of times walking by the same people everyday without ever really taking the time to look at them. Of course, I know you can't get to know every person you see, let alone stop and say hello to them. You would simply run out of time and also it would just be strange and people would look at you funny. What I am saying though, is that one of those people that walk by you all the time or someone you see on the train or in your car on the way to work, could potentially be someone very interesting. Who knows, you may even become friends! It might sound strange, but think about it. Meeting someone so randomly could give you a whole new dimension to your life or worst case scenario, it would simply break up the monotonous daily routine.

So my request, no, a challenge, to you is a simple exercise, to possibly open up a door to a more colorful existence. Try smiling at someone you don't know. Watch their reaction. Notice how you feel when you smile in public, at a total stranger. Maybe it's someone you have been simply passing by on the street on the way to work or maybe it's that cute stranger you've been eying on the train. Or maybe it's a little old lady going on about her day and your smile would make her day or even that moment, just a little brighter. The worst that could happen is they won't smile back. So, big deal! You don't know them anyway. Best case scenario, you might get a smile back and make a new friend. Just like that :)

Try it. I dare you! ;)