How many times has this happened to you:
It happens to me a lot
Everyday
I am walking
I see someone I know and this conversation ensues:
Me: “Hey”
Them: “Hey”
Me: “How’s it going?”
Them: “Good.”
Me: “Good.”
We both then walk our separate ways.
What does that even accomplish?
Other than acknowledging they exist…?
Maybe that
However, I am guilty of this so often everyday
I mean I am in a rush
Gotta get to class
Gotta get to work
Gotta get to the gym
The car
Home
I am a man on a mission
Places to go
People to see
In fact, I am an important person
To have a small conversation with someone would mess up my plans
Or would it?
I hope you catch the sarcasm in my writing
Because, we are all victims of the curse of “good”
This actually happened to me today
I thought about it and my thoughts were as stated above
“What did that accomplish?”
If anything its actually slightly insulting
It is as if I am saying,
“Hey, I know you are breathing,
however,
I am too busy to say how I really feel,
In fact I’m incredibly busy,
To inquire how you are doing
Would affect me.”
Now don’t get me wrong here
I am not saying that its a bad thing if you don’t have a 5 minute conversation
With everyone that you see
I would reckon that
There is a difference between acknowledging someone’s existence
And interacting with their presence
You could say I am playing with semantics
People who focus on semantics never accomplish anything
Give this a try:
Next time you are in danger of this conversation happening
Inquire of something unique about their day
If they’re holding coffee
Ask them how it is
Interact with them
It can be quick
People are affected when other people notice the small details about their life
And ask about it
It leaves an impact
Maybe its not coffee
Maybe its a book
Who knows
People will notice though
But this seems so small and trivial
I would challenge you to this though
See what happens
Jesus was a man who impacted people
Still does
When he was on this earth
I think he understood this a little bit
Matthew 8:3 reads,
“Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man….”
Jesus reached out and touched the man
He was a leper, people don’t touch lepers
Jesus did
So as small and trivial as this may be
Despite the rush of our important lives
The challenge is this:
Do not be a victim of good
Interact with people’s presence
We as a generation
The Facebook generation
Are good at being in a rush
Bad at interacting with people
Take this challenge for a week
See what happens
I dare you