Let’s do all we can for one another, to keep spirits up during these days of isolation. We have seen a lot of neat and innovative examples; people bringing balloons to place outside nursing homes, messages painted on sidewalks and store windows, cruising down main streets to wave at fellow drivers, and delivering treats to a neighbor. That’s all wonderful and inspiring, but I have to say this. Not that many of us are smiling at one another, or greeting passers-by.
I’ve been making a special effort to say hello to folks I meet on the way into a store, or in a waiting room. It seems a way to break our isolation, and even cheers me up to do that. But less than half of you respond.
So, maybe it’s just me, I thought, and therefore, mentioned it to one of my sons. He agreed, and added that often he gets a cold stare in return, as if to say, “Why would you speak, when I don’t even know you?” Not even a smile. You think I can’t know if you are smiling because you wear a mask? Not true. Our eyes show smiles before our lips do.
There’s always something worth smiling about. The sun is shining, the snow is melting, the wind quit blowing, the store is open, the kids are back in school, there is a vaccine… True, we are still restricted in many areas but just because we don’t get to do everything we used to, is no reason to skip gratitude for what we have.
Everywhere, I hear people say they can’t wait till we get back to normal. That may never happen, and what is normal anyhow? Something that changes daily, even though it often happens in small increments that go unnoticed. Normal in a rural area is much different than in cities. America’s normal is a far cry from normal in undeveloped countries. And anyhow, when we are waiting for “normal” we miss the blessings of today. Yesterday is gone, and tomorrow may or may not come, so we may as well enjoy the only thing we have—today.
On the positive side, I notice a lot more people holding a door for me, and even running ahead a bit to get there first and do that. Maybe it’s the gray hair, but I choose to think they’re building community and making a statement about hope. How we respond to any given situation is simply a choice.
I choose to smile under my mask. You’ll know that if you look me in the eye, and you’ll hear it in my voice when I greet you.
You’re welcome. Pass it on.