A WAVE AND A SMILE

Something great happened today. A stranger waved to me and smiled and my whole attitude changed for the better. It was such a simple gesture but the consequences were great…and that surprised me.

I own a Mini Cooper. It was purchased in Germany while we were stationed there. In Europe, when Mini Cooper drivers encounter each other on the road, we wave to each other. It’s like we’re acknowledging fellow members in our exclusive “Mini Cooper Club” (similar to the “Corvette Club” here in the States). Upon returning to the continental United States, I found myself waving to other Mini Cooper drivers whenever I passed them by, however, 99.9% of the time, all I received back were blank stares. Disappointed time after time, I finally gave up on waving.

Fast forward to today, just another ordinary day with ordinary errands needing to be done. I head out in my Mini Cooper feeling a little bored and blah-like. As I wait for the light to turn green for a left turn, a white Mini Cooper comes driving by. I glance at the driver and lo and behold, she smiles and waves at me. Hey! She waved at me! What a shock…and pleasant surprise! Of course, I smile big and wave back.

Wow! All of a sudden, I’m feeling great. I’d given up on the fellowship of other Mini Cooper drivers, but here was a driver, a complete stranger, extending a friendly greeting to a fellow human being. How wonderful was that? And why was I so affected?

I think I was so affected because in waving and smiling at me, that driver was being brave and fearless in reaching out to make a connection with a complete stranger.  People don’t usually do this anymore, at least not the majority of people I encounter. In this day and age, we’re more prone to be suspicious and fearful of one another.

Our world seems a little colder than it used to be, especially with the explosion of personal hand held electronic devices in use today. We don’t look people in the eye as much as we used to. We don’t have actual conversations with each other as much as we used to. That driver’s wave and smile represented warmth. It was an actual old-fashioned hand wave and real mouth smile. It felt really good. Who would have thought such small gestures would evoke such nostalgia and feelings of good will? Not me. It took me by surprise, but I’m glad it did. It made me want to reconnect with everything and everyone around me in a really human way.

Suffice it to say, my errands were conducted with a much lighter heart …and I gave away a lot more smiles today, which added more smiles to my own pocket.