Smiling Strangers

Spurred on by the recent 'Underground challenge' of a friend and fellow blogger; asking people to start a conversation with a random person on the tube, I became more aware of our interaction with strangers.

We see different people each day of our lives but do not actually meet them. I think this is because many people put up a subconscious wall, which only falls when they are surrounded by people they already know. This is by no means the case for all people, but I have noticed recently that some really struggle to show their emotions with strangers and seem cold, rude and oblivious to much of what happens around them. This may be clever, as we are all taught at school 'to never talk to strangers'. Yet, a wise man once said that strangers are simply friends we have not yet met.

Obviously personalities will differ from person to person. Some of us are personable creatures, loud, friendly, confident and willing to chat to anyone who will chat back. Others are introverted, quiet, and prefer to sit back, watch and listen rather than join in. Neither is right or wrong, however the latter can sometimes give the wrong impression to a stranger. A shy person can often come across as cold, apathetic or sometimes moody. This person could be all these things and that is their prerogative but what if they are simply scared? I am not asking the entire world to be happy 24/7 and obviously we all have good and bad days, however a smile can often make someones day.

Our society shows life to be fast-paced, everyone is always busy, in a hurry or in the middle of something extremely important, maybe they do not have the time to stop or start anything new. Again a smile can be exchanged in a mere second, a few words in a minute. I often see that people avoid conversations and situations with new people. In improvisation we call this 'blocking'; when an actor offers an idea, a theme, an olive branch, if the other actor responds in the opposite direction they are blocking the action and preventing the scene from unraveling. In life many of us are scared of what may be unravelled, scared of what we do not know. Our observation for manners and politeness can often get in the way of our need to branch out. Most of the time When i wish to talk to a stranger, it is usually because I have eavesdropped on their conversation and have something to add! In most cases I do not offer my opinion as it would of course seem rude to a stranger. However, on one occasion they may be interested and find my nosey nature amusing...who can know?

I can explicitly remember the few times I have interacted with a stranger; shared a conversation, laughed with them about the surroundings or helped them out with a problem. Not all were good encounters and I did not necessarily make life-long friends in these situations, but I have extra memories to keep for life. Each one showing a smiling stranger :)

Take a look at SupePennie and the 'Underground Challenge'
http://superpennie.blogspot.com/2010/04/underground-challenge.html