Ried Rants

In this stage of my life I have decided to be nicer. Actually make an effort to be pleasant. Deep down inside I know many people are put off by my [brutally] honest, shoot from the hip way of living my life. So I have tempered conversations and even on occasion preempted my comments.

My friends and loved ones, few as they are, believe me to be a great person. (Maybe someday I will believe that.)

Anyway, now I say hello to strangers when I go about my daily life. By this I mean whenever I make eye contact with someone I make an effort at some sort of greeting. Be it a head nod, a smile or actually verbalizing a greeting.

Sometimes I make a game of it and laugh out loud when I have greeting a passer by and for some unknown reason they make no effort to respond in kind.

Are they scared? Is their smile broken? Or maybe they are having a crappy day. Actually there are occasions when I think folks are hesitant to say hello or make a connection by greeting because they believe that only salesmen and vagrants extend a greeting with no prompting. Who knows?

Did you know that by the act of smiling it makes you feel better and happier? Did you know that the “vibe” is in the air like radio waves and makes folks happy by proxy? In the infamous words of Nike “Just Do It” smile and say hello to folks as you go through your day. Pump up the volume on connecting as a human race.