DISQUS

pearl_mattenson · 1 year ago

I am totally on board Danielle, I also say hello to people on the street . AND I also believe in a simply thank you to people who are doing their job---whether they are taking my money at a toll booth or pumping my gas, it is so sadly unexpected that the impact is greater than I even intended. It gives me shivers to think of how much more connected and alive we might all feel if we could look each other in the eye and say hello.

DanielleLaPorte · 1 year ago

yes, yes...isn't it amazing that those sweet little moments can be so moving?

L'Tanya · 1 year ago

I'm with you on this one. I made eye contact with a man who was walking on the sidewalk; someone who seemed to be lost, homeless. I think I actually started him when I said hello. His eyes seemed to say "she actually saw me." I will never forget it.

Chantal monte · 1 year ago

Yes, yes, yes! Hello to everyone. I'm a big believer is saying hello and it's especially easy in New Mexico because everyone does it. Practicing elsewhere is a bit harder because people are always looking down. But practice I will.
One of the things I love most about Bali is that everyone smiles at each other and they have the most beautiful smiles. It's smile therapy. You can't have a bad day or be judgemental while smiling. Balinese smile regardless of their situation. They live from the inside out.

MoJo · 1 year ago

I'm with you on this one!!!! (But seriously, it's freaking me out a bit how perfectly timed your posts are!) I was walking to work this morning and by the time the 4th person I passed didn't even look up to smile or say 'hi', I was convinced I had to re-read my "Highly Sensitive Person" book and that I was just expecting to much or being too much of a wuss. And I know the names of the street people that hang out in our 'hood. Honestly, there is more risk in not connecting with others. There was one homeless man, Jonathan, who was severely schizophrenic and used to stand on the corner and scream at various points during the day. Strangely enough, after I spoke to him once when he was in one of his better moods/selves, he would snap out of his screaming to talk to me in a really soft-spoken way when I passed him by in the future, and always remembered my name. Count me in, I'm on board - and thanks for the injection of purpose - it's easier to deal with the strange looks and lack of reciprocity when I know there are others on board as well - we will prevail! ;-)

DanielleLaPorte · 1 year ago

a shrink once told me, that even in matters of insanity, good manners make a difference.

Beckie Temple · 1 year ago

Hello!

I love this revolution! I will post this on the blog to keep the movement going, too. :)

Thank you for such a wonderful idea.

Goodbye...until later. :)

Traci · 1 year ago

The great thing about growing up in a teeny-tiny (I'm talking microscopic) town is that this type of behavior is etched onto my DNA. I know people who wave at EVERY SINGLE PERSON they pass on the road. I love it.

Pema · 1 year ago

I LOVE Hello!!
When I'm quieted by the shyer moments of my nature, there's nothing like a few hello's to roust me out and get me giving the love right back.

Caxalinka · 1 year ago

I think it's a cute provincial habit, not so popular in big cities. You wouldn't exactly say "hello" to everyone who passes you by along the seawall in Stanley Park, right? But on the trails, generally, people are very friendly and always say hello. So Danielle, you should be proud of your fellow Vancouverites.

DanielleLaPorte · 1 year ago

indeed. One of the (many) reasons I love living here is because Vancouverites are, for the most part, incredibly civilized and polite. We could do with a little more edge, but I'll take polite any day.

Siboney · 1 year ago

WOW! You see, I thought that saying hello and smiling was NORMAL , that everyone else did it too. Now I come to find out this just isn't so.
Perhaps normal is whatever one perceives it to be. I have made eye contact and connected with my fellow earthlings and I will continue to do so. But, if this is a revolution then I want to be in on changing it up for the better. I'm sure there are many more of us out there who feel exactly the same way.

Tamika · 1 year ago

HELLO this is AWESOME! I am all the way on board with you. Connection is what it's all about and when people can connect it's so much easier to have love and compassion. While the people on the street need "hello" the people we see (or I see) everyday on the job, in a Walgreens, waiting in line for lunch, need "hello" too. I can go to work everyday, see the same faces, and they will walk past me like I'm a stranger! As if! Love this idea, love you and Carrie, love the blog, love the internet for bringing you to me everyday.
It's time for a Revolution!!!!

ErikaRS · 1 year ago

This is hard, but I have come to realize that the more I work at it, the easier it gets.

Alison · 1 year ago

I really am all for street love, or at least eye contact. Its funny how people develop an almost scared blank stare, not looking at any faces in crowds... of other human beings. I think I was born with street love, because I used to say a great big enthusiastic hello to people when I was out with my Mother in public as a little girl.